OF DAYS PAST BY: THE OC SEASON 7
by Tangence McCurson
Summary: Trey has been dead for five years. Everyone has left Newport to find better things. SethSummer, RyanMarissa are no more. Then there is an unexpected death, and everyone is brought back to Newport. An intense thrillerromance sequel almost finished.
1. Time and Place

Chapter One

Year: 2010

**Phoenix, Arizona**

**Monday Morning**

**7:30 A.M.**

Marissa kissed Gary goodbye and turned to leave when he called her name. "Yes?" said Marissa. Her boyfriend of two years held up a black briefcase, containing her laptop, iPod, and various important papers. "Thank you, baby," smiled Marissa, taking the briefcase and kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be back by 5:30 or so."

"Why 5:30? I thought that you got off at four."

"Yes, but I have a doctor's appointment."

Gary nodded, understandingly. His bright blue eyes twinkled in the light of the sun streaming through the kitchen window. Marissa hurried to the door, her car sitting outside. "I better hurry or I'll be late for school."

"Yes," said Gary. "By the way, good luck on that history test of yours. I know that you'll ace it."

"Thanks." Marissa shut the door behind her as she hurried down the steps. Today was going to be a long day. It was only seven in the morning and yet Marissa felt extremely tired. She didn't know if she could make it to her doctor's appointment. But she had to. Gary didn't know that the doctor she was going to wasn't for her physical health. It was for her mental health, something she had been struggling with for the past few years.

Ever since she left Newport.

**Charleston, South Carolina**

Seth rested his head on the side of the window. He tapped the pen against his desk over and over. That was when the clock hand moved. Great. One minute had gone by. He couldn't take this. Day after day, working here at the publishing company. It was fun at first, he got to hear about the new comic books that would be published there. But, after a while, it grew boring. He would sit there and process papers, type up responses ( Dear sir or madam. I am sorry to inform you that your comic book and/or graphic novel was not accepted by _Starfire Publishing Co. _Maybe in the future you will succeed in publishing the comic/graphic novel. Signed, Joseph Hart, Head of _Starfire Publishing Co._)

Seth lifted the drawer onto his lap and began to sift through papers, trying to find his bottle of white out. Damn. It was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and, in rage, through the drawer across the room. It crashed into the floor, its contents spilling. Seth sighed, regretting what he had just done, and began to stick the items back into the drawer, preparing the drawer to be fitted back into the desk. That was when he found something.

_Atomic County: Issue One._

A tear slowly began to trickle down Seth's cheek. A blast from the past. He quickly shoved the drawer back into the desk and began to type furiously. Forget. Forget. Forget.

But Seth couldn't. No matter what he did. It was always stuck there, between his thoughts of work, the new baby on the way, his wife, and…Summer.

Summer, who was somewhere miles away.

**New York City, New York**

"Smile at the cameras, Summer!" cried Yugi.

"I can't!" groaned Summer. "It's too damn early!"

Yugi, his long brown hair dangling over his shoulders, walked over to Summer and ran a hand through her hair. "You are so beautiful," smiled Yugi. "Maybe, if we hurry through the shoot, we can get some rest together."

Summer didn't laugh, or grin, or even meet Yugi's eyes with her own. She just nodded. "Okay, Yugi."

"What is wrong, my dear Summer?" asked Yugi.

"Nothing," said Summer, crossing her arms. "It's just…"

Yugi's lips met hers. They kissed softly. "Ah, dear girl. Let us finish this shoot. I have lots of work to do."

Summer nodded. "Okay." She put her hands on her hips, forced a smile, and prepared for the flashing of the camera. This was her life, five years later.

**Chino, California**

Ryan lay beneath the car on the skateboard, wrench in his hand, trying desperately to figure out the problem before the customer came back. He had been working on this car for two days and still couldn't figure out why it wasn't running.

That was when he heard the woman's voice. "No, Billy, we are not going to the fair today!"

Her son, around nine, said: "But please, mommy! I want to ride on the Ferris wheel!"

"No," demanded the woman. "We may go tomorrow, but that is only if you are a good boy."

That was when memories came rushing back to Ryan.

The Ferris wheel.

"_You just need something to take your mind off of it."_

Marissa and Ryan's first kiss.

"Excuse me," demanded the woman. "Is my car ready?"

"That'll work," said Ryan.

"What?" said the woman, confused.

"I mean, it's almost ready."

It wasn't.

"Okay. Well, can you hurry? I need it now. We're going on a family trip."

"Okay," said Ryan.

Don't think, just work, he told himself.

**Portland, Oregon**

Luke nodded at his dad. He began to walk down the sidewalk towards his truck when he saw Molly, his girlfriend, standing there. "How'd you get here?" he asked.

Molly waved a pair of keys in the air. "I got a new BMW today! Daddy gave it to me!"

Suddenly memories of Newport came rushing back to him. Marissa. Her first car. The Range Rover.

"I got it today! Daddy gave it to me!"

They had kissed.

Just as Luke and Molly were kissing now.

Luke pushed away gently.

"What's wrong?" asked Molly.

"Nothin'." Luke stared down at his feet. "It's just…memories from what happened it Newport…and my brothers…and my mother…I haven't seen them in years. My brothers would be around my age when I left by now."

Molly nodded. "I couldn't imagine not seeing my family for that long. You're brave." She smiled. "But we can create a new family, Luke."

"I don't know if I'm ready yet," said Luke.

"What?" said Molly, flabbergasted.

"Don't act like it is something we haven't discussed before. We have."

"And we agreed we would get married someday."

"Someday isn't now." Luke climbed into his truck, revving his engine. Molly watched as he began to reverse out of the driveway. She was crying. She thought that he would propose to her soon. Obviously not.

**Miami, Florida**

Sandy smiled at his mother. Kirstin sat beside him, stroking his back. "It's nice down here. I am glad that we moved. Aren't you, Kirstin?"

Kirstin nodded. "It's lovely."

They kissed softly.

"It's like a permanent vacation."

"That's because it's retirement, Sandy," said the Nana.

"Yes," said Sandy. "I do miss the courtroom, though."

"How do you think I feel?" said Kirstin, laughing. "When was the last time I've taken a vacation?"

"Six years ago. Christmas time."

"Exactly!" cried Kirstin. "But how do you remember all of this stuff?"

"It's a lawyer's job to remember things." Sandy kissed Kirstin softly. That was when he clutched his heart. Something was happening.

"Sandy?" said Kirstin.

"Oh my God!" screamed the Nana.

Kirstin wrapped her arms around him. They sat beside the pool in two lounging chairs. Kirstin screamed for someone to get help, but no one did. They were all old people, murmuring and wandering around aimlessly.

Kirstin stood and screamed. "Dear God! Someone, please, HELP ME!"

"I'm calling an ambulance!" cried someone nearby with a cellular phone. Kirstin stared down at her husband. She was sobbing, and then, when she saw his eyes flutter open, a sigh of relief swept through her body.

"Oh, Sandy, are you okay?"

Sandy just lay there. Then he mouthed, "I love you…and Seth…and….Ryan…"

That was when Sandy closed his eyes. Kirstin cried out in pain. He was dead. Her husband was dead. Sandy Cohen was dead!

To be continued (if you like it). Email me if you like it!

Coming up:

You find out why no one is in Newport!

What will happen?

Sandy's dead?

How did he die?

What's up with everyone being married/having new mates.

Summer's job?

I will only continue if I get a review saying that I should continue.

Thank you!

Tangence McCurson


	2. Returning to Where It All Began

Chapter Two

**Phoenix, Arizona**

**4:30 P.M.**

**Dr. Brown's Office**

Marissa nodded. "Yeah, it's just...I've been getting flashbacks lately...I mean...I can't stop thinking about the past."

"The past...hmm...tell me about what you are thinking about. What has been reoccurring in your thoughts lately?"

"Well," said Marissa. "It's about my last year in Newport."

"And that is where you grew up?" questioned Dr. Brown, writing something on his clipboard.

"Yes," said Marissa.

"What happened that year?" There was a long silence after Dr. Brown asked Marissa this question, and he had to look up and ask what was wrong.

"Nothing," said Marissa. "It's just, it wasn't really what happened that year that I am remembering as much as it is what happened that summer."

"What did happen that summer?" asked Dr. Brown. He took a sip from his glass of water and sat it back down on the desk.

"Well," said Marissa. "It began that May. My boyfriend, Ryan, had a brother. He had been in Newport for a while and he was nice and all…" She clenched her hands together in her lap. "One night, when Ryan was gone during spring break, I was hanging out with Trey…"

"Trey?"

"Ryan's brother and…and he forced himself on me…" Marissa began to sob.

"It's okay, let it out," said Dr. Brown.

"Later, I didn't tell Ryan, but I told my friend, Summer, and she told Seth…and Seth…Seth told Ryan…"

"And let me guess? Ryan went psycho and beat up his brother?"

"Yes," sobbed Marissa. "But Trey had the advantage…and then Trey went to smash Ryan's head in, and I had to kill Trey."

Dr. Brown, holding the glass of water up to his lips, suddenly spit up the water he had half swallowed. "What?" he gasped, astonished. "You killed him?"

"Yes, I had to…" cried Marissa. "He was going to kill Ryan if I didn't."

Dr. Brown, still shocked, said, "Please continue."

"Well," said Marissa. "I went to court. And during the trial, the prosecuting attorney tricked me. She made it so that it was like I had no reason to kill Trey. You see, he was going to smash Ryan's head in using a phone. But the woman, the prosecutor, said to me, 'Why couldn't you have just shot him in the hand?' I didn't know what to say. I was really nervous at the time. And, when Trey was about to smash Ryan's head in, I hadn't been thinking. I wasn't rational. I just knew that I had to stop Trey from killing Ryan."

"Yes," said Dr Brown. He was resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "How could they expect you to have thought everything out? You had, what? Fifteen seconds at the most?"

"Then she made it where I didn't know if I hadn't made the first move on Trey. The night Ryan was gone, I mean."

"What are you saying?"

"Well, that night we had been drinking, me and Trey. I was really drunk, and I didn't really know what was going on. One moment I thought we were watching _The Notebook_, the next I was lying on the beach, Trey on top of me, struggling to pull off my top."

"Hmm," said Dr. Brown. "So she made it like you could have possibly put the first move on Trey?"

"Yes."

"What happened next?"

Marissa began to talk.

_Five Years Prior _

_Marissa began to descend down the courtroom steps when she saw Ryan near the road by her limousine. He usually rode home with her after the hearings, but today he had a stern look on his face._

"_Why the FUCK did you not tell me that you and Trey were drunk that night?" asked Ryan._

"_I…I don't know why. It must have slipped my mind."_

"_So really there wasn't a reason for my brother to die then?"_

_Marissa stood there, flabbergasted. "What?"_

"_For all you know, you made the first move on Trey."_

"_But I didn't!" sobbed Marissa. "I swear I didn't!"_

"_But that's just it. You don't know, Marissa. You don't know. And so my brother's life was worthless. Everything. And for all you know, he could have made something out of himself."_

_Marissa watched as Ryan turned to walk down the sidewalk. Her mother and father were descending down the stairs behind her. "That's it! Then we're over now?"_

_Ryan turned around. "You killed my brother."_

"_For you!" screamed Marissa. She ran towards him. "I did it for you! I killed him because if I didn't, he would have killed you!"_

"_Yes," said Ryan. "He probably would have. But if you would have told me the truth--"_

"_I didn't have the chance--"_

"_You had PLENTY of chances to tell me, Marissa. You could have told me any of the times when I asked you what was wrong. At the prom. At the Bait Shop. Anywhere, Marissa. But you didn't. Hell, you could have called me when I was on my fucking way over to Trey's place to beat his ass for YOU. I did that for you, Marissa. And because I loved you so fucking much, that I would give up my mother fucking brother for you, Trey is dead. Have a nice life, Marissa."_

"And just like that," sobbed Marissa, wiping a few tears from her eyes, "I never saw Ryan again."

"Where did he go?" asked Dr. Brown.

"Some people say he went to Vegas, to live the party life. You know what I mean. Others say he went back to Chino, to live with Theresa."

"What do you believe happened?" asked Dr. Brown.

"Probably the latter," said Marissa.

"Hmm," said Dr. Brown. "And how do you feel about that?"

"I don't care," said Marissa, wiping a few tears from her cheeks. "Not at all. Right?"

Dr. Brown leaned forward in his seat. "You know what I think, Marissa? I believe that you still have feelings for Ryan. Feelings bottled up inside. He's the one you let go. The one that you can never have. The one you love. Your high school romance."

"It was more than that," said Marissa. "It was deeper…it was love…"

Dr. Brown nodded. "I think that you should confront him. Tell him your feelings. It would make you feel a lot better."

"That will never happen," said Marissa. "Never."

Dr. Brown looked at his watch. "Our time is up. It's been a good session today, Marissa."

Marissa stood and, grabbing her belongings, said, "I agree. Thank you, Dr. Brown." They shook hands and Marissa turned to leave.

"See you next time, Marissa?"

"Yes," she replied, slipping out of the door.

Marissa began to walk down the hallway when she heard her cellular phone ringing. Shock ran down her spine. She quickly reached into her purse and grabbed the cellular phone, flipping it open and lifting it up to her ear.

"Hello?" said Marissa.

"Marissa, is this you?"

Marissa gasped. "Ryan?"

It was Ryan. The guy who she had just been talking about.

"Yes, this is Ryan. Listen, I was calling you to tell you…I have some bad news, Marissa."

"What is it?" said Marissa, worried.

"It's about Sandy. Marissa, he's dead."

Marissa gasped, dropping the phone to the floor. Sandy Cohen was dead?

**New York City, New York**

"What do you mean he died?" asked Summer.

"This morning," said an upset Seth. "They said that they think he had a heart attack."

"Oh my God, Seth. I am so sorry." Summer ran a hand through her hair.

Yugi, clapping his hands in frustration, said to Summer: "Hello? Miss Roberts, the photos are due today! We can't afford to waste time!"

Summer glared at Yugi and, covering the receiver with the palm of her hand, snapped, "My friend just died, Yugi. Could you give me a sec?"

Out of shock, Yugi just stood there, staring at Summer. "Forgive me, Summer. I am sorry. The photos can wait."

Summer nodded and turned back to the phone.

**Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania **

"I'll be there as soon as possible," said Anna. She leaned against the bureau drawer and stared directly at her boyfriend. His name was Isaac and they had been dating for the past two months. Although their time together so far had been short, they were very much in love. In fact, the two had already had a discussion about getting engaged.

"What has happened?" asked Isaac.

"It's my friend, Seth…" Anna rubbed her head. "I don't know what to do…his father just died this morning."

"Oh no. That's terrible. Are you going to the funeral? When is it?" Isaac sat down at the dinner table.

"In three days. In Newport. I need to leave tonight. I…I need to start packing my things."

"Newport? Where's that?"

"In California. I lived there for a while a few years ago. Seth was one of my good friends."

"Oh," said Isaac, picking at the rice with his fork.

"Do you want to come?"

Isaac stared up at her. "Uh…no, I have to do that thing with work. The business trip. Remember?"

"Oh, that's right," said Anna. She kissed Isaac on the cheek. "I wish you could come. I love you." Then she turned and hurried out of the room towards her bedroom and began to pack her clothes.

**Charleston, South Carolina**

"I'm so very sorry that I can't come, baby," said Arianna. "But you know that I have that doctor's appointment to find out the sex of the baby."

"It's okay," said Seth. He kissed Arianna on the forehead and turned, pulling his luggage towards the airport. Once he got to the revolving doors, Seth turned and waved goodbye to his wife.

"See you later?" asked Arianna.

"About a week," smiled Seth.

Arianna was wondering why Seth wasn't more upset that he was. She knew that if her father had died she would be in her bed unable to move, crying her eyes out. But that was something that she loved about Seth. How tough he was. Even in the hardest situations. What Arianna didn't know was that Seth wasn't always that way.

Seth used to be a frail, poor spirit. He couldn't uphold in the midst of tragedy. He depended on others to help hold him up. Keep him standing. But everything had changed about five years before.

**Las Vegas, Nevada**

Zach opened the door for Mrs. Sanchez, a regular at the casino. She always came as if on schedule, at nine o'clock every Friday night, and at eleven thirty-five on Saturdays. She loved to play the slot machines, because she basically always won. She also loved blackjack. And she loved Zach. Their secret rendezvous had been going on for several weeks now. The married woman loved to fuck the young boy, who, in his youth, was inexperienced, and gave Mrs. Sanchez the chance to teach him new things.

Zach, working at the casino as a job until the new _Atomic County _movie made him millions, met Mrs. Sanchez several months before when he first began his job. After months of just _Hello_'s and _Goodbye_'s, Zach was invited up to Mrs. Sanchez's penthouse where she had a special treat waiting for him.

Mrs. Sanchez quickly began to undress him, she wearing nothing but a robe. The robe came off in a flash, and they were in her bed rolling and tumbling, kissing and clawing, moving in heat and passion.

But they never revealed their relationship.

Not to anyone.

Later that night, when Zach was dressing after one of their encounters, his cellular phone began to ring. "Hello?" he said, answering it. It was a completely unexpected call. Seth was on the other end.

What Seth said was shocking. "Zach, my father died this morning."

Even though Zach barely knew Sandy Cohen, he had to be there for his friend in his time of grievance. So he told Mrs. Sanchez goodbye and that he wouldn't be able to speak with her for a while.

"What is the matter, Zachary?"

Zach told her, and she was dumbfounded. "I understand," she said, when he turned to leave. "I will see you when you return, no?"

Zach turned back to her and, wrapping his arms around Mrs. Sanchez, kissed her passionately. "Yes," he said, finally pulling away. "I love you, Gabrielle."

Then he turned and left.

**Honolulu, Hawaii**

He rolled on top of his wife and kissed her passionately, then stood up. "I need to go and cook dinner."

"Don't go," whined Julie.

"I'm starving," said Jimmy.

"So am I," growled Julie, crawling towards him on the bed. "For you."

That was when the phone rang.

And they received the shock of their lives.

**Boston, Massachusetts**

Kaitlyn was packing her bags. She had just received the news that her godfather, Sandy Cohen, had passed away that morning. She was filled with sadness, not at the fact that her godfather had died, for she barely knew him, but for the fact that she had to leave her boarding school. She said goodbye to Chelsea and Maria, and rode to the airport with Mrs. Harris. She said goodbye to the headmaster and walked off into the crowd. Somehow she knew that she would never return to the school ever again.

**Portland, Oregon**

"I'm coming now," said Luke, running to his room. "Let me pack my clothes and I'll be ready to go."

Seth sighed on the other end of the line. "Okay, see you when you get there?"

"Yes," said Luke.

He hung up the phone. He told his dad he was leaving, then turned and, carrying his suitcase, climbed into his large black truck. He missed his mom and little brothers, and now he would finally get to see them.

**Later**

They were all returning. Everyone of them. By plane. By train. By car. They were coming back to Newport. Back to the O.C.


	3. Redemption and Mistakes

Chapter Three

**Charleston, South Carolina**

Adrianna sat in her living room, going through boxes. She looked back at the scrapbooks she had been making. There were pictures of Seth and her, Valentine's Day cards he had given her. He was so romantic. The perfect husband.

Adrianna glanced down at her belly, which had slowly been growing over the past two months. She rubbed it gently and smiled to herself. Seth would also make the perfect father.

That was when she found a thick black leather bound book. She opened it and began to flip through the pages. What was this? Then, on one of the pages, she found the words: "Dear Journal." This was a journal? Who's was it? Then she flipped back to the first page and saw the name inscribed on the first page. "Seth Cohen."

"Hmm," she said to herself. "I wonder what Seth has been thinking lately."

Flipping back through the journal, she found a entry written around a year before.

_Dear Journal:_

_Ever since the day that they made Atomic County into the movie, my life has been filled with nothing but regrets. Why? I can tell you many reasons. There is the girl that I let get away. Summer. The love of my life. The one that I hold dear to my heart. I will remember her always. And all that I can think of is that day. The day we parted ways forever. It was in July, and they had just begun filming the project, and Summer was cast as Little Miss Vixen. Of course, it was obvious why. I based the character on her. The radiance of the character shown through, representing my love for the girl. But recently we had been fighting. About the movie, the project. I didn't want her to star in the movie. I knew what it was like to be famous, in the spotlight, me creating the comic book and all. And I didn't want Summer to go through the same thing that I did. So we fought. We screamed at each other. And slowly our love for each other topple down. That fight set off the trigger, and I had to leave. In the end the movie didn't happen, but Summer still grew famous. Today, she is acting in movies, modeling, etcetera. I've seen her on the cover of one of my wife's magazines. I don't care. Really. I've moved on. Right? I don't know. Deep inside, I still have feelings for this girl. Really, I do. What will I do? What can I do? I love her. Deep inside. Obsess over her night and day. The other night when Adrianna and I were making love, I called out her name._

_What will I do?_

_Seth_

_7/17/09_

Adrianna gasped. Seth was still in love with Summer Roberts? How could this be? She felt weak in her stomach. "No," she said to herself. "This can't be. This isn't Seth. Seth didn't write this. He couldn't have..." She wiped a few tears from her cheeks. She told herself it wasn't Seth. These journal entries weren't true. They couldn't be. Right?

Adrianna leaned back against the wall, her legs crossed over one another in Indian style. Even though she told herself that Seth loved her, loved her more than this girl, she knew that it wasn't true. Ever since she married Seth, it had been forced.. The marriage. The love making. The dates. The kisses. He didn't really love her. Seth was in love with a girl named Summer Roberts.

And then Adrianna stood, sobbing, and walked over to the kitchen table. Her People's Magazine sat there. And on the cover was one of the most beautiful women Adrianna had ever seen. Then she looked at the caption to the side of her arms.

"SUMMER ROBERTS: A RISING STAR".

Adrianna gasped. Her husband was in love with a movie star.

**Newport, California**

"Nice to see you again," said Seth, walking across the living room towards Marissa and Anna, who had just arrived. He embraced each one in their turn and Marissa whispered sympathies in his ear.

"I am so sorry about your father," she said. "I just want you to know that I'm here if you need anything." Marissa backed away and smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks," said Seth.

Marissa nodded into the kitchen, and began to help Anna and the Nana make refreshments for the arriving guests.

Seth stood in the living room staring at his feet, hands in his pockets. This was such a miserable occasion. He never thought this day would come, when he would have to bury his father.

That was when the doorbell rang. He hurried to the door, grabbing the doorknob and pulling the large door open. And there was Summer.

**Meanwhile in the Kitchen**

"So, do you know when Kaitlyn and your parents will be here?" asked Anna.

"Sometime today," said Marissa. "I am so excited. I haven't seen them in a while."

"Yes," said Anna. "I know what you mean. My parents still live here in Newport. After the funeral, I'm going to visit them."

Marissa nodded. "So, how have things been for you in Pittsburgh--"

That was when the back door opened behind them. Marissa turned around and saw Ryan entering, carrying a plate of smoked salmon and steaks. Marissa's eyes widened, and so did Anna's.

"Hi," said Marissa, shocked.

"H-hey, Marissa." Ryan sat the plate on the island in the middle of the kitchen and smiled down at her. "Long time no see."

"Yeah..." said Marissa.

"Okay...I'm going to..." Anna struggled to come up with an excuse to leave. "I'm going to go and...uh...clean the toilets. Bye!" And she quickly bolted out of the room.

"I heard...I heard you were living back in Chino. Is that true?"

"Yeah...yeah..."

"With Theresa?" Marissa added, regretting it the moment she asked.

"No, she left a while ago. She's living in Atlanta. Like she always planned to do."

Marissa nodded. "Cool..." Cool? Why the fuck had she just said cool? She had practiced five years for the moment that she would come upon Ryan again and after all of that training, all she could come up with was 'cool'?

"And what's up with you?"

"I'm going to school in Phoenix...and I've got a boyfriend. How about you?"

Ryan didn't want to tell her the truth. He couldn't. Only disappointment could come from the truth.

"I'm...uh...going to USC..."

"Hmm..."

"Yeah," said Ryan, clenching his hands together, his knuckles nearly going white.

"So, about earlier," said Marissa.

"Earlier?"

"Five years ago."

"Listen, Marissa," began Ryan.

"I was wrong not to tell you the whole truth about everything," said Marissa. "I realize how important friends are now that...you know...Sandy's gone..."

"Yeah," said Ryan. "I wish I had stayed in touch with everyone."

"Yes, and what I'm staying is..." Marissa extended her arm. "Friends?"

Ryan grinned. She loved to see him grin. "Friends," he said.

And they shook hands.

**Back in the Living Room**

"Glad you're back," said Seth, hugging Summer.

"Brings back memories," said Summer.

"Yeah," said Seth.

His heart was beating incredibly fast.

"So, how was..."

"Charleston..."

"Yes, Charleston?"

"Very nice..."

"Any new loves?"

"Well..."

That was when the door flew open. And there stood Julie Cooper. "It's nice to be home!"

**The Kitchen**

"Oh my GOD!" said Marissa. "Is that my mother?"

"I think so…" said Ryan.

"Yes!" cried Marissa.

"I've never known you to be excited at the sight of Julie Cooper."

"It's not her I'm excited about seeing!" cried Marissa. "Where there's Julie, there is Jimmy! My dad is here!" Marissa ran from the room. "Dad!" she cried.

Ryan smiled to himself. He was happy to see Marissa so full of joy.

**The Bedroom**

**Later That Day**

Hailey sat beside Kirstin on the bed. "Come on, Ki-Ki. You need to come see the family."

"No," moaned Kirstin. "The love of my life is gone…the only man I could ever love…"

Hailey hugged her sister close to her. "Come on, Ki-Ki. Be strong. For Seth."

"Some one saying my name?" asked Seth, entering the room.

"Hey, Seth," said Kirstin, forcing a smile on her tear stained face.

Seth embraced his mom. "I miss him too," said Seth.

Kirstin began to cry again. "What am I going to do without him?" she asked. "How can I go on?"

"We'll get through this…" said Seth, although unconfident in his own words.

"…Together…" Seth turned and saw Summer in the doorway. She walked towards him and took his hand in her own.

Seth smiled.

He didn't realize what he was getting himself into.


	4. The Kiss and the Break Up

Chapter Four

"I called the synagogue and arranged the funeral yesterday," said the Nana. She was sitting at the table across from Seth and Summer, who were holding each other's hand, Seth seeking comfort and Summer hoping to provide the needed sympathy. She squeezed his hand even tighter at the sound of the word "funeral." She knew how tough it was for him to say goodbye to his father. For years, Seth's only friend had been Sandy and Kirstin. Then, within the span of a year, he met Ryan, Anna became his dance partner, and Summer became his lover (after much competition with Anna over the love of her life).

"So, it's in three days?"

"Well, if you count today, then yes," said the Nana. "I need to take you shopping for a tux. When should we go? Tomorrow?"

"That'll be fine. Let me tell Ryan later…um, I think that I'm going to leave in about a week. What is mom going to do? Is she going back with you? Staying here? Does she need to come with me?" Seth stroked his thumb along the edge of Summer's hand soothingly. She smiled encouragingly up at him.

"Well, I think it would be best if she stayed here. She needs to get used to life without him. I know that it is going to be hard, but I believe that--"

That was when Kirstin stumbled into the kitchen. She was drunk. "What are you talking about?" she said, her words slurred.

"Nothing, Kirstin," said the Nana, getting to her feet and taking Kirstin's hand. She wrapped an arm around Kirstin's back and led her over to the kitchen. "C'mon, Kirstin. Let's get you something to eat. I know that you must be starving. You haven't eaten in days."

Kirstin struggled to free herself from the Nana's grip. "What were you talking about? Tell me," she demanded. "I want to know."

"We were talking about the funeral arrangements. We're having it at the Newport Synagogue on Friday morning." The Nana tried to shove Kirstin towards the food but she planted her feet firmly in the floor, her heels digging in deeper as the Nana tried to push her harder.

"I told you already," cried Kirstin. "I don't want to have a Jewish funeral for Sandy! He stated clearly in his will that he wanted his funeral to be at the Glass Cathedral. Sophie, you need to change it! It doesn't need to be a the synagogue!"

"Listen to me," said Sophie in a firm voice. "We are having it at a synagogue and there is no arguing about it. Sandy will have a traditional Jewish funeral and that's final! Now come to the table and have a bite to eat."

"The ham sandwiches are good, Mrs. Cohen," said Summer in a hushed voice, hoping to lift the mood.

"I don't need any help choosing food," snapped Kirstin, "because I will eat nothing! Not as long as Sandy eats nothing!"

"Mom, please," said Seth, getting to his feet. "Don't do this."

"Do what, Seth? Grieve? I think I have every right to be angry at God!" That was when she broke down into tears. "He took away my husband. The only man I will ever love!"

Seth wrapped his arms around his mom but she shoved him away. "Mom," he tried to say, but she darted off down the hall towards her bedroom. Seth knew that she was slowly falling into darkness. The drinking was continued when the death of Sandy occurred. Kirstin often turned to liquor in her times of sorrow.

Seth walked down the hall and leaned against the wall in the shadows, crying softly. Why was this happening to him? It seemed that his life was falling apart. That was when he felt someone touching his hand. He looked up and saw Summer standing there before him. "Hey," she said softly.

Seth said nothing in reply. That was when Summer raised her hand and gently cupped his chin. Standing on her tip-toes, she softly kissed his lips. Seth stood there, letting Summer kiss him, even though he was married. Then he wrapped his arms around Summer and pulled her towards him. He kissed her harder, then broke away. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he said: "We can't do this Summer."

"What?" said Summer. "Seth, I'm sorry about all of those years ago. I still love you Seth."

"And I love you, Summer, but that's the thing," said Seth. "I can't love you."

"Why can't you love me?" asked Summer. She was on the verge of tears. Seth was just staring down at his feet, silent. "Answer me, Seth! Damn it, answer me!"

"I'm married," said Seth. "Summer, I have been married for about two years."

**Charleston, South Carolina**

**Earlier that Day**

"He's in love with a movie star?" sobbed Arianna. "How can this be? I thought that he loved me?" She began to climb the large winding staircase. She leaned hard on the banister, sobbing, her fingernails clinging to the wood. That was when, reaching the top of the stairs, she saw the small table with a picture frame resting on it. She gasped, seeing what it was. A photo of their wedding day. So long ago, it seemed, yet only two years in the past. In anger and rage, she grabbed the framed and ran towards the banister, screaming and throwing it off the side of the railing. "Damn you, Seth Cohen!" she screamed. "Damn you!" But that was when she tripped on the staircase, one of her high heels breaking. A freak accident, something that happens often but causes little damage. Arianna fell down the stairs, rolling, screaming. "Help me!" she cried as her head hit the side of the railing. She came to a rest at the bottom of the staircase. She lay there for a few moments, weak, then slowly picked herself up, crying. Seth was destroying her ever so slowly. She knew that she couldn't take it, couldn't take being with him. She was in love with Seth Cohen, but he wasn't in love with her.

**Later that Day**

**The Doctor's Appointment**

"I'm afraid I have some bad news," said Dr. Red, walking into the room with a few large black sheets of thick paper in his hands. He told her that he thought she should sit down.

"What is it, Doctor?"

"It appears," said Dr. Red, "that…there have been complications…I'm sorry, Mrs. Cohen."

"What?"

"Your baby is dead," said Dr. Red solemnly. "I am so sorry."

"No," said Arianna, tears streaming down her cheeks. "How can this be?"

"Have you had any accidents lately? Falls? Bumped hard into anything?" Dr. Red held a chart in his right hand, the papers in the left. He sat the papers on the table and began to write something on the clipboard.

That was when Arianna remembered her fall.

Her anger at Seth. Seth had caused this. Seth was the reason her baby was dead.

Arianna began to cry.

**Newport, California**

**The Next Day**

The phone rang, and, after Ryan answered it, he found that it was for Seth. "Seth," he called, "the phone is for you."

Seth hurried down the hall and took the receiver in his hand. Seth heard crying on the other end. "Arianna?" he said. "Is that you? What's wrong? What's happened?"

"The baby's dead," said Arianna.

"What?" gasped Seth.

"I had a miscarriage, Seth. The baby died. The doctor said I must have…I fell, Seth…and the baby died." She was sobbing uncontrollably now.

"I'll come home," said Seth. "I'll come now. Just let me buy a plane ticket and I'll be there by tonight--"

"No," said Arianna.

"What?" said Seth.

"Seth," said his wife. "I think this is a sign. Something is trying to tell us that we don't belong together, Seth. I have been thinking about this for a while, and my suspicions have been confirmed."

"What?" Seth was flabbergasted. He didn't know what to say to this.

"Seth, I want to get a divorce," said Arianna bluntly.

"No," said Seth. "You're just upset. We need to talk about this. You need to think about what you're saying."

"I have," said Arianna. "I know what I am doing. I want to get a divorce, Seth. I think we got married too early. We were only twenty years old, Seth. We weren't ready. We aren't ready. Seth, I need to go back to college, get a degree. You have always wanted to start the comic book empire back up. You've always dreamed about that. You can't do that with a baby and a wife."

"Yes, I can," said Seth on the verge of tears.

"No," said Arianna. "You can't. I'm sorry, Seth, but I think that it is for the best for both of us. I love you, Seth. And maybe in the future we will be perfect for each other. But not now. I've already gone to a lawyer, and he will be sending you the divorcement papers today. I am sorry to do this to you in your time of sorrow, but I don't know what else to do. I can't go on like this. Bye, Seth."

Seth heard the dial tone and didn't know what to do. It was all too sudden. Had Arianna just divorced him? Had they just broken up? Was his little boy or girl dead? Seth fell into a nearby chair and began to cry. "What have I done? What have I done, God, to deserve all of this?"

**Charleston, South Carolina**

Arianna fell into the bed sobbing. She was upset to let Seth go, but she knew that she had to. She couldn't love a man who was in love with another woman. Especially a woman like Summer Roberts.

**Newport, California**

Seth walked out to the pool area, wiping a few tears from his cheeks. "Who was that?" asked Ryan, laying in the pool on one of the chair-floats. He had on a pair of sunglasses and was sipping a glass of lemonade out of his straw.

"That was Arianna," he said. "She wants to break up with me." He turned and saw Summer standing in the doorway. He watched as she burst into tears and ran off down the hall. "Oh no…Summer, wait!" He ran after her, following her to the front door of the house where she desperately tried to open the door. She managed to pull it open and run outside towards her car. Seth hurried after her and managed to grab Summer's arm and pull her towards him. "What's the matter, Summer?"

"I caused you to break up with her," cried Summer. "I'm the cause of your…divorce…"

"No," said Seth. "You aren't, I promise. Arianna and I have been having problems for a long time, long before you and I met up and…before this happened." Seth grabbed her around the waist and lifted her upwards, pressing his lips against hers. They kissed deeply, for a few seconds. Then Summer pushed away.

"We can't do this."

"Yes," said Seth. "We can."

"It's too fast," said Summer, wiping a few tears away from her cheek.

"Then we'll take it slow."

**Chicago, Illinois**

The red headed girl sat on her bed playing the oboe. That was when her mother, who looked very much like her, came into the room. She had a sad look on her face. She told the girl, who was around the age of twenty-two or so, that one of her friends in Newport had called and told her that Sandy Cohen was dead.

"Do you think that I should go?" asked Lindsay.

"I think you should," said her mother. "He was your sister's husband. If not out of knowing him, then out of respect for the rest of your friends."

"Okay," said Lindsay. "I'll pack my bags."


	5. Romance

Chapter Five

Seth began to button up the shirt. "So," he said. "What about you, Ryan? Found any new loves lately? Girlfriends? Wives?"

"No such luck," said Ryan, in the dressing room beside him. Seth stood on the stool looking down into the other dressing room.

"This is so nice, us having Seth-Ryan talk-time. We haven't had talk-time in a long while."

"Yeah," said Ryan. "But…uh, Seth…do you mind going back into your dressing room?"

"Oh, yeah." Seth chuckled and leapt to the floor.

"What's going on in there, Seth?" asked the Nana.

"Nothing, Nana," said Seth, sliding his hands into the coat sleeves.

"Ah, well hurry, Seth. We are wasting time here. We must also pick out flowers and thank you cards and many more things."

"Nana, it's a funeral, not a wedding. I'm sure the Funeral Home Owner will be okay if we are a little late in--"

"No, Seth! We cannot be late!" She jerked open the door to the dressing room, revealing Seth with no pants on, only his boxer-briefs. "Hurry, Seth. Get your pants on. We need to fit you for two outfits."

"Nana…"

"I said hurry!" She clapped her hands furiously and slammed the door shut.

**The Cohen House**

**Sometime Later**

Seth opened the door and saw Marissa and Summer sitting on the couch in the living room playing _Ninjas vs. Zombies Volume VI_. Seth clapped his hands happily. "I see you are in the lead, Summer."

"Yes," said Summer, staring intently at the television screen where she was currently beheading most of Marissa's Zombie warriors from Hell.

"Hey, look at that Marissa, it's your mom!" cried Seth, pointing at one of the mutilated Zombies.

"Shut-up, Seth," laughed Marissa.

"Yes, Seth, shut-up." Julie walked into the room behind them. "I see that we're all here."

"Except Anna," said Seth. "She's visiting her parents."

"And Luke," said Marissa. "He came earlier. You just missed him, Ryan and Seth. He's going to visit his brothers and mother, and then he coming back here for dinner."

"Oh good," said Seth. "I can finally exact my revenge."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" asked Ryan.

"Oh please. Don't act like you didn't know I've been planning my revenge against Luke for years now. The vengeful action will amount to all of the swirlies he had given me in high school."

Ryan laughed. "I'd love to see that happen."

"You say that now." Seth jumped to fighting stance.

"Hahah," came a voice from the hallway.

Seth turned to see Luke standing there. "Hey, buddy," he said. He shook hands with Luke, and so did Ryan. They hadn't seen each other in years. Ever since Seth had stayed with him that summer when he ran away from home.

That was when the door opened again. Zach hurried inside.

"Zach?" laughed Seth. "We didn't know if you were coming or not!"

"My plane got delayed," said Zach.

Zach and Seth embraced.

"Good to see you."

"Right back at ya'."

Anna snuck in from behind them. She made her way into the room from the pool area. "Hey, guys."

She hugged Luke.

"And who are you?" she asked.

"Zach," said Luke. "He was on the water polo team with me."

"Yeah," said Seth. "And he helped me get the comic book published. One day, whenever the movie comes out and we get successful, we're gonna' live side by side, in our gigantic mansions on the beach."

"Yup," said Zach.

They laughed together.

The seven sat on the couch together, laughing. Then they began to talk about the old days. Or that's what they called it, the days that they all lived in Newport, California.

"So, Anna," said Summer. "What's been up with you?"

"Nothing much," said Anna. "When I left I graduated from my old high school, with my old friends, and then I went to Princeton and got a degree in English. I met my new boyfriend about two months ago and we're pretty serious."

Marissa smiled. "That's nice. Seems like things turned out good for you, Anna. How about you, Summer?"

"I've been modeling and making made-for-TV.-movies. I met this guy named Yugi, who is also my photographer, and we've had a relationship for some time now. Also, I'm going to star in an upcoming _Wonder Woman _movie, and the movie version of _Atomic County_. My life has been pretty good to me." She smiled.

Seth was a little shocked when she said that she would be filming _Wonder Woman_ the movie. That was when he was taken back to that Christmukkah, six years ago, when Summer had dressed up as Wonder Woman for his Christmukkah present.

"How about you, Seth?"

Seth was brought back to reality. "Oh, yeah, I am working for _Starfire Publishing Co. _for the past few years. I was married, but we just recently got divorced. And…yeah, well, that's basically it." He wrapped his arm around Summer. "I might move. South Carolina's nice and all, but I'm willing to return back to…to Newport…to where I belong…"

Summer smiled at him and placed her hand on his, squeezing it gently.

"Ryan?" asked Marissa. "What about you?"

"Nothin' much," said Ryan. "Just been goin' to USC and such…"

"I thought--" began Seth, but when he saw the look on Ryan's face, he knew that he better go along with Ryan's story. He knew that he was trying to impress Marissa, saying that he was going to college--that he had moved on.

"What about you Marissa?" Seth was trying to help his friend out and get off of the subject.

"I'm…I live in Phoenix, where I attend college and date a very nice, handsome man named Gary."

"Gary, hmm…." Seth smiled. "That's nice."

That was when Ryan stood. He couldn't take it anymore, knowing that Marissa had moved on, that she didn't have feelings for him. He hurried to the pool house and sat on his bed. And, Ryan Atwood, the toughest guy in Newport, in Chino, in everywhere, cried.

**Back in the Living Room**

Luke began to tell his story. The whole time, Seth was thinking: "Oh God, what have I done? I made Ryan leave? Oh no. I better go."

But Marissa was already gone. He knew where she had went. To help comfort Ryan.

**The Pool House**

Ryan looked up and saw Marissa standing there. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," said Ryan, wiping tears from his eyes. "My eyes…they're just, uh…watering…"

"Mm-hmm." She didn't break a smile, but sat beside him and put her arm around his back. "Ryan, are you okay?"

"Yes," he said.

"Ryan…I just wanted you to know--"

"Cookies!" came a call from the door of the pool house. "Cookies for everyone!" The Nana came bursting in, carrying a bowl of cookies and two glasses of milk on a tray. Seth had told her that now was the time, if any, to interrupt Ryan and Marissa. He had done wrong in…well, to tell the truth, making Ryan cry.

"Thanks," said Marissa, taking a cookie and a glass of milk.

Ryan did the same. "Thank you, Nana."

"So, what's been happening with you two? I know that two young beautiful people like yourselves must have people falling at your feet wanting to be your mates."

"Not really," said Ryan.

"Oh, well…that's okay, then. I didn't marry until I was in my late twenties. And let me tell you, he was the biggest mistake of my life. I swear, if it wasn't for Sandy and Leigh and Gerald, I don't know what I'd have done…"

Ryan and Marissa's eyes met.

"Come, Marissa," said the Nana. "Help me prepare dinner."

Marissa nodded and stood, following the Nana out of the pool house.

Ryan sighed. Thank you Nana.

**The Kitchen**

The Nana stuck the meatloaf in the oven and shut its door. Then she turned to Marissa. "Prepare the salad for me, dear."

Marissa nodded and began to unwrap the lettuce.

"So, are you and Ryan--"

"We aren't going out."

"I know that, dear. I was wondering if you were okay with him. Are you friends?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Marissa began to chop up the lettuce.

"You know what I think?" The Nana was wiping her hands with the towel.

"Yes?" Marissa turned to the tomatoes and began to slice them as thinly as possible.

"I believe that you should tell him your true feelings." The Nana took the onion and began to peel it.

"What?" gasped Marissa.

"Oh, don't act like you don't still have feelings for him. If you say you don't, then that's just a load of bull." She ripped the peeling off quickly, ferociously.

Marissa just stared at the tomato, continuing to slice it.

Later that night, Marissa was sitting out by the pool reading. That was when the door to the pool house opened and Ryan came walking out, iPod head phones in his ears, bobbing his head to the music. Marissa laughed, seeing him. "Hey," he said. Marissa stood and walked over to him, and then they sat down beside the pool, rolling up their jeans and dipping their legs into the cool water like they had done so many years before.

"So…the salad was nice. What type of dressing did you use?"

"Zesty Italian."

"It was yummy."

Marissa smiled.

That was when Ryan dipped his foot low into the pool and brought it up, splashing Marissa. Marissa squealed excitedly. Ryan grabbed Marissa around the waist and they fell into the pool together. Marissa screamed as the water swallowed them whole. When Marissa emerged, she saw Ryan before her, laughing heartily. She splashed him and said, "Why did you do that?"

There was a long silence between the two.

"Just like old times," said Ryan.

They waded in the water, facing the other, grinning. Then their grins disappeared. "So, about earlier," said Marissa. "I wanted to tell you something--"

"Shh," said Ryan, holding a finger up to her lip. "I don't need to know."

"Yes you do. Ryan--"

"Marissa," said Ryan, cutting her off.

"Ryan, I still love you."

Ryan just swam there, dumbfounded. Then he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him. He jerked Marissa upwards and their lips met. And then they kissed.

That was when the door that led from the main house to the pool area opened and the Nana and a woman walked out to the patio. "Ryan, Marissa?" She was shocked that they were in the pool. "We have a visitor. She just arrived a few minutes ago. All the way from Chicago, Illinois. Kirstin's sister."

Marissa looked up. "Hey, Hailey. I thought you weren't going to be here 'till tomorrow."

But it wasn't.

"Hi," said Lindsay. "Nice to see you again."

"Uh, hey, Lindsay," said Ryan.

"Yeah," said Marissa. "Hey."

"Woah," said Seth, walking out onto the patio. "Hey, Lindsay! Long time, no see!" The two hugged.

Marissa began to climb out of the pool, and the Nana handed her a towel. She handed Ryan one too. Summer stared at them from the kitchen window. "Oh no," she said to herself. "Not her again. I know that she is going to get in the way of Ryan and Marissa."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Luke, walking towards her from behind.

"Satan Reincarnated. That bitch over there is a boyfriend thief."

"Oh, Lindsay. I've heard about her. Marissa was filling me in earlier on what happened in Newport after I left."

"Yeah," said Summer. "Lots of drama." Summer turned around and faced Luke. "Do you think we should do something?"

"Yeah," said Luke. "Something like this." And he leaned in and kissed Summer hard on the lips. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Luke, what are you doing?" asked Summer.

"Don't act like you haven't wanted to," said Luke. "I've waited too long to get back into your pants."

"Luke, last year was just a one time thing," she said.

"No," said Luke. "It wasn't." He lifted her into his arms, kissing her. "I think there's a spare bedroom in the back." And he carried her off into the hallway.


	6. Death Can Bring Together & Tear Apart

Chapter Six

**Portland, Oregon**

**May 11, 2009**

The film had just begun shooting. It was called _Mind Over Matter_, a drama/comedy about a female scientist who falls in love with a hitman, leading to a possible catastrophe involving the destruction of one of America's leading politicians. Summer was set to play the lead, Tessa Young. Her co-star, Gerald Ferginstein, had been working with her on various movies for the past few years. She loved to star in motion pictures with him. He was nice and funny, and not to mention handsome. That was when Summer was told where they were shooting the movie: Portland, Oregon. And then she remembered who had moved there five years before, in the beginning of the summer of 2004.

Luke was there, in Oregon, someone from her past, someone who had caused a lot of damage to her best friend, Marissa, not to mention that in the summer of 2003 he had beaten up her former boyfriend, Seth Cohen. Where was Seth now? She had heard that he was working for some publishing company in the south but she couldn't be sure. She hadn't stayed in touch with any of her old friends from Newport. But now she had her chance. Summer had always wanted to find out what was going on with Luke now. How was his dad doing? Was he still gay? Hmm, maybe that would be a little too awkward to ask when seeing him for the first time again. But she had so much to ask him. What she didn't know was how her feelings for him would change, and how she would be sent tumbling into a constant twisting and turning relationship, leaving to a non-break-up goodbye. This was before she even saw him again, before their eyes met, before they connected. She had no idea what was in store for her, how she would fall for the man who she had no interest in prior to the date. Summer was clueless when it came to her feelings. She wasn't very open about her emotions, and she refused to try and apologize to Seth, no matter how badly she wanted to call him and find out what he was doing and if there was any possibility that he might still have feelings for her. No. She would never do that, she told herself. No matter how badly it hurt her on the inside to remember the kind of love that they had. She could stand the pain, she just couldn't stand the weakness of giving in.

**Three Months Later**

Their relationship had been going on for a while now. Summer was so in love with this man, but the movie shoot was almost over. What would she do when it was time to leave? Could she continue to have a relationship with him? Could their love survive the months apart they would spend while she was shooting different movies and he was working at his law firm? That seemed impossible, but she knew that if she tried, and if he tried, they could work it out together. But then she would remember her relationship with Seth, and how, in the end, their love had been torn apart by her stardom, his fame for the comic books. What would happen? She would wonder many sleepless nights how she could survive without this man, who on many occasions she had loathed and hated. But then she would remember her career, and how she had worked so hard to get this far.

What was more important to Summer? Her career or her love life? It seemed like a movie she would star in, where a woman would have a serious choice to make, and the dramatic climax would depend on who or what she chose. But this was different. This was real life. This was reality.

**Two Weeks Later**

The shoot was over. Summer had packed her bags. Luke had tried to stop her, but she had to leave. She had several shoots for magazines, an interview on _Good Morning America_, and another movie to begin shooting in October. She promised that she would come back, that their love would survive anything. But then she moved back to New York City, and show business took back over her life. She forgot about Luke for the longest time. Her relationship with Yugi was going pretty well, and her star status was rising.

And then she got the call that Sandy had died.

**Newport, California**

**Year: 2010**

Summer lay in the arms of the man she had left so many months before. She had forgotten about him, moved on, and now she was here again. She was in a different situation, though. She had two men to choose from, something that had never happened before in her life. Luke or Seth? Who would she choose? In her heart she loved them both, they were both wonderful and loving and handsome and great in bed. But she couldn't have them both. She remembered Christmas six years ago and how Seth had to choose between Anna and herself. Of course, having two women had caused such chaos for him, and she took from that experience what would happen to her if she didn't hurry up and choose.

Summer lay there, her mind stressed, her heart weak. She couldn't choose. She loved them both. And they both loved her. She knew that what she was doing wasn't right. She should have stopped Luke last night. But she couldn't. She still had feelings for him, she still loved him. She couldn't resist the temptation. And that was what had brought her back to the situation she was in now. The love for two men, but the will to only be with one.

**Seth's Bedroom**

**Earlier That Night**

Seth woke to the sound of his door creaking open and light shining down in a sliver-like form on his face. He squinted his eyes closed and then stared at the door through narrow slits. "Who's there?" he asked, ready to fight in case it be a robber or murderer of some type.

"It's me," whispered Anna, creeping in and silently shutting the door behind her. "Were you awake?"

"Yeah," groaned Seth, half asleep, a clear lie.

"Sorry," she said, sitting on the bed at his feet. "I just couldn't sleep."

Seth sat up. "So, what's been on your mind?"

Anna was blunt and to the point. "Seth, I just…I have to just come out and tell you. Seth, I still have feelings for you. They have been bottled up inside for the past six years and I don't know what to do."

"What?" said Seth, a bit shocked.

"I'm still in love with you, Seth," she said, running a hand through her now shoulder length blonde hair. "I don't know how else to put it."

Seth groaned. Not again, he thought. Not a love triangle like this. Two women again, like Christmas so many years ago. "I don't know what to say, Anna."

"Just tell me, Seth. Do you still have feelings for me?" asked Anna. She wringed her hands together in her lap anxiously.

Seth didn't know what to say, so he just stated, "Even if I did, Anna, I couldn't be with you--I'm with Summer now."

"Oh," said Anna. She wiped a tear from her cheek. Seth, of course, couldn't see that she was crying in the darkness. "Well, then…" She stood and hurried out the room.

"Anna, wait," he said. But by the time he uttered the words, she was out of the room and running down the hall. Great, just great.

**The Pool house**

**7:00 A.M.**

Ryan awoke to see Anna sitting outside the pool house, her knees drawn up to her bosom, crying softly in the morning light. He climbed to his feet, careful to avoid Marissa and Lindsay's sleeping bags, and made his way to the door. He slipped outside silently and sat down beside Anna. "So," he said. "What's up?"

"Just like six years ago," she said silently. "I want Seth but he is madly in love with Summer."

"Oh," Ryan mouthed. "That whole ordeal again?"

"Yes," she replied. "I just told him how I felt, and he said that he was with Summer." Anna burst into tears again. "I don't know what to do, Ryan. I'm in love with my boyfriend back in Pittsburgh, but yet I still have feelings for Seth."

"What's his name?"

"Isaac."

"Oh. Well, listen Anna." Ryan looked around to make sure that no one was watching. "This is your decision and no one else's to make. You've got to decide who you want more. Who could you picture yourself with in ten, twenty, thirty years? Seth or this Isaac fellow?"

"But how do I decide?" asked Anna, wiping away a tear that had dripped down to her neck.

Ryan took her hand and pointed to her heart. "It's in here," he said.

**Meanwhile**

Seth yawned and climbed out of bed. He walked down the hall after pulling on a shirt and began to descend down the stairs. That was when he heard something ringing. A phone? He hurried down the stairs and found a cellular phone ringing on the kitchen table. When he answered it, he found that there was someone on the other end of the line. "Hello?" he said.

"Hi," came a woman's voice. "May I speak to Luke?"

"Yeah, hold on a sec." Seth turned and began to walk towards the only other spare bedroom in the house which wasn't being used. Hurrying down the hall, he pushed open the door, releasing a narrow stream of light into the dark room. There was one bed, and he tip toed over to it, careful not to wake Zach in the room next door. When he reached the bed he saw that Luke wasn't the only occupant there. Beside him, naked beneath the silk sheets of the bed, lay Summer, sound asleep.

"Oh my God…" He ran from the room quickly, dropping the phone to the floor and waking Summer and Luke.

"Oh no," said Summer, quickly getting to her feet and running towards the pile of clothes that lay on the floor. She managed to grab her pants and a shirt of Luke's, which were the closest clothing items in eyesight, and darted out of the room after Seth. Seth had already made his way down the hall and was darting outdoors to the patio.

**On the Patio**

Anna was sitting now by the pool, her pajama pants rolled up to her shins, feet dipped into the warm water. That was when she saw Seth running from the house towards her. She began to stand, wondering what was wrong. That was when he grabbed her, falling to his knees, and wrapped his arms around her back, kissing her passionately. "What?" she said, her voice muffled.

Summer stood at the patio door, watching them, her eyes wide in shock. "No…" she said, her voice hushed. Seth was kissing Anna.

Summer knew that sleeping with Luke had been a big mistake. She just didn't realize how much it would cost her. She ran back into the house, sobbing, and stumbled up the stairs towards the bathroom. She locked herself in the bathroom and sobbed for several minutes. Then she sat there, staring at the window at Seth and Anna. They were conversing happily, and the whole time she was wondering what they could be saying.

**Two Hours Later**

**The Pool House**

Marissa was dressing in the bathroom. Ryan and Lindsay were sitting on the bed, talking. They had just finished dressing a few minutes before, and Ryan was now slipping on his socks and shoes.

"So," he said. "How is Chicago?"

"Actually," she said. "I'm not living there anymore. I was there visiting mom when she got the news that Sandy had died and I decided to fly down here for the funeral."

"Oh," said Ryan.

"Yeah," she smiled. "I'm actually living in Florida. I'm attending Florida State. I want to get my degree in Musical Education. I want to teach band at a school here in Newport, hopefully."

"That's nice," said Ryan. "Met anyone new?"

"You mean since our last encounter?"

Ryan was taken back to five years ago.

**Mid Summer of 2005**

Lindsay had just learned of Caleb's death and had flown down to visit the family. Kirstin was just released from rehab, and she stayed with Sandy and Kirstin a while. Then she asked where Ryan was. And they told her.

"He left for Chino about three weeks ago. Things weren't working out for him here. I think that it was because of his brother's death. Did you ever meet Trey?" asked Kirstin.

"No," said Lindsay. "I never got the chance."

"Well, the two got into a fight over Marissa, and Trey was killed," said Sandy, midway through the local paper. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and a bagel in the other. He was chewing it silently.

"By Ryan?"

"No," said Kirstin. "By Marissa."

After their conversation, Lindsay was prompted to go and visit Ryan in Chino. She had wanted to see him for so long, and she would not leave Newport without at least dropping by Chino and saying hey to her former boyfriend. He was working as a car repairman when she found him. He was so handsome in the white tee-shirt and jeans, covered in sweat and oil. He was so surprised to see her there.

That night, he took her out for dinner, and they talked about the last few months. What had she done in Chicago? What had he done in Chino?

That was when they got to the part about love.

"I still have feelings for you, Ryan," said Lindsay, after putting it off the whole conversation.

Ryan was a little shocked, although he could basically tell that this was coming the whole way through dinner. The truth was, he still had feelings for Lindsay too. He didn't know what to say. He just sat there, staring at her blankly.

They finally got the conversation back up, and Ryan paid the bill, and they left. Lindsay wanted to see his new house, which was near where he had lived with his mother. She loved it (or at least faked it) and they ended up eating ice cream in his living room, watching reruns of _America's Funniest Home Videos_. That was when she kissed him.

They were driven into a heat of passion. Ryan was undressing her in an instant. She began to unbutton his shirt, pulling off his wife beater. She kissed his chest, leading down to his jeans. She unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants. He slid his hands up and down her legs, then pulled off her skirt. They were on the floor, moving as one. And she decided to stay the night.

Lindsay stayed for a few days until she knew that she would have to leave. Her mother would be worrying about her, she said. She had to go home. She would call him. But, after returning home, she never did. Her fling with Ryan was just a one time thing. Never to happen again, or so she thought. Then Sandy died and she came back to Newport, and her feelings for Ryan were rekindled.

**Year 2010**

**The Glass Cathedral**

After much argument with Kirstin, the Nana had finally given in. They would have a traditional Christian funeral. She didn't want to argue anymore. She was too old, too tired. She had survived the cancer, survived the death of two of her children, two marriages and another engagement, and now she just couldn't stand to put up with one more thing. Plus, she didn't want to add any more stress to Kirstin in her time of mourning. True, the Nana was also upset at her son's passing, but not as teary eyed as Kirstin. Kirstin was filled with emotions, she had noticed this when Sandy and the girl had been married. She didn't handle tragedy very well, she was driven to drink in time of sadness, just as she was doing now. The poor woman was drunken, staggering down the isle to the front pew. The Nana felt so sorry for her as the tears streamed down her cheeks. How would she survive without her husband? She had very few friends left, all of her children were grown and at marrying age, and her whole life was revolving around Sandy at the time of his death.

The Nana felt overcome with grief and worry. She didn't know what to do. All she could manage was to sit by her daughter and law and, with great love, place her hand on Kirstin's and offered her comfort the best that she could.

Seth was crying too.

Ryan stood strong.

Marissa was looking a little misty-eyed.

Summer was sitting beside Luke, she crying herself. The Nana didn't know why she wasn't sitting beside Seth, comforting her grandson. Anna was doing her job for her.

All in all it was the saddest funeral that the Nana had ever seen. She wiped the tears from her eyes at the priest preached his sermon on the life of Sandy Cohen. How good he was. How he loved his wife and son, Seth. How he had taken in the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Ryan. How everyone in Newport would miss him. And how his legacy would live on in the hearts of all those he loved.

Then they began to wheel the casket down the isle towards the hearse. Kirstin screamed in anguish and pain. "No!" she cried. "Not Sandy! Don't take him away! Don't take him away!"

The Nana wrapped her arms around the woman. She had never shown the girl love before, but she knew that she had to be strong and show all the love that she could muster now. Sandy would want her to. Sandy always wanted Kirstin and the Nana to get along. The Nana had always been bitter towards her daughter in law for marrying her son. But now she forgot all of her bitterness, trying to succeed in fulfilling one of Sandy's wishes that could not be fulfilled while he was alive on Earth.

Death brought all kinds of people together.

And it tore the most loving apart.

The woman stared at the casket from the back of the cathedral, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wished that she could thank Sandy for everything that he had done for her while he was still on Earth. But it had seemed impossible at the time. She loved the dead man so much, even now as they were preparing to set him in the ground.

She pushed a lock of the dark hair behind her ear and backed away into the shadows of the cathedral. The woman's name was Rebecca.


	7. The Wake

Chapter Seven

The hearse drove ahead of the two limousines that were driven by the owners of the funeral home. In the first limo was Kirstin and Seth, Ryan and Marissa, Lindsay and the Nana. Zach and Anna, Luke and Summer, Hailey (who had arrived just in time for the funeral) and Jimmy, Julie and Kaitlyn, rode in the second limousine. There was little chatter, much nose blowing and sniffling in both. What little they had to say to each other were things like, "Do you need a Kleenex?" or "Here's a cough drop for your throat." Kirstin just sat there sobbing words like, "He's gone!" and "How can I live without him!" and "I will love no one but Sandy!" Then they arrived at the graveyard, and that was where the real drama began.

Theresa began to walk down the long pathway that winded along the gravesites and the tents pitched for various funerals. Apparently there were two other funerals occurring within the same time period as Sandy's. She felt obliged to come to Sandy's funeral. He had helped her out so much with her legal problems nearly five years ago. She had flown all the way from Atlanta to bid farewell, and she would stay a few days at her mother's house and then leave again to be with her boyfriend and her son, Sammy. Sammy was Ryan's son, although he did not know that such a child existed. Theresa had lied to Ryan several years before, telling him that she had lost the baby. But she didn't. In fact, the baby was in perfect health. It had blonde hair and blue eyes just like his father. Sammy had never met him, and she knew that one day she would bring him to meet Ryan. But not today. No. After the graveside service ended, she would be off to her rental car and back to her mother's house. Visit for a few days, maybe see Arturo and Eddie, and then she would leave again.

Theresa saw the large green tent pitched about a hundred yards ahead of her. She knew that she would have to quicken her pace if she wanted to slip into the crowd unnoticed. She ran her hands down the sides of her dress, making sure that the material was free of wrinkles, then pranced her way into the crowd, ducking low, pulling her large sun hat down over her face, making it appear as if she were trying to avoid the sun, but rather not wanting to be recognized. Next, she slipped on her large black sunglasses and then looked upwards at the casket that stood there before the rows of white chairs, under the tent, flowers piled atop it. Large arrangements stood around the tent, decorating the area as if they were celebrating, not mourning the loss of someone once and always loved by several people. Theresa felt guilt for this. How could she feel so good while others were in such pain. All she wanted to do was speak to Ryan again, reminisce about the old times, the good times. But yet everyone else were mourning, crying, sobbing. How could she feel this way? How could she be looking forward to something while Sandy Cohen would never look forward to anything again besides being put into the ground, six feet under, forever.

Theresa ran her hands along the rim of her hat. Her hair was up in a neat bun and, to tell the truth, she was thought of as one of the rich Newpsies. She certainly looked the part. She, with her large pearl earrings and pearl necklace (courtesy of her mother) and light pink blush, blue eye shadowed, looked rich. Or at least that is what she told herself. The crowd was filled with sobbing moans and sniffling tears, and Theresa began to back away as more and more people crowded around her. She wanted to stay near the back of the crowd, so as not to be seen. She saw the family walking down the path towards the tent, and then saw Ryan with his arm draped around Marissa, pulling her close to his body in a comforting way. Theresa wanted to run up to him and laugh and talk and gossip about the stuck up Newpsies. And then the service began.

Rebecca stared at the tent from a safe distance in the bushes. She ducked low so as not to be seen. She watched as the family began to make their way up the pathway, and as the graveside service began. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and she remembered the old days with Sandy, in college, and then having to run away, and the time when her father came to him for help. Then her father died, and the whole time Sandy was there for her. And then Rebecca just left. She patted the handkerchief to her cheeks with her gloved hand. Poor Sandy. He loved everyone, worked so hard to do his best, to be good, to do good for others, and he never got recognized for it. But then Rebecca noticed the hundreds crowded around the tent, and realized how much Sandy was loved. Yes, he was recognized. In the best of all ways. And Rebecca could only dream of what Sandy Cohen had while he was alive. Family. Friends. All of who loved him dearly. And at one time in her life, she had tried to take that all away. And he would have given it all up, just to help an old friend.

Rebecca burst into tears just at thinking how good Sandy was. She loved him, and he loved her, just like he loved everyone and everything.

**After the Graveside Service**

**The Cohen Home**

The wake was probably the worst time for Kirstin Cohen during the goodbye to her husband. She had to sit in the chair at the front of the living room as people made their way in a line towards her, all wishing her their sympathies. They didn't know what it was like to lose their husbands. They didn't know what it was like to live without the only man you could ever love. They knew nothing of her sorrows, of her sadness, of her fear for tomorrow. And for this she hated them. She hated everyone of those people who made their ways through the line and said, "I am so sorry for you lost," and, "I'm praying for you," and, "My deepest sympathies," and, "Sandy is with God now," and, "May God be with you." To tell the truth, she didn't even know if anything they said was true. Were they really sorry that Sandy was dead? Were they just trying to comfort her? What the hell did they want? A piece of inheritance? Those bitches. They wouldn't get anything. Then she just broke down.

She stood in the middle of one person's sympathies and began to stumble around the room, mumbling: "Sandy, Sandy. Where are you?" That was when she tripped and fell, grabbing the table clothe that dangled off of the nearby dining room table and drug it down with her. Then she passed out onto the floor, laying there with her mouth open, her eyes closed, breathing heavily.

"Oh no!" cried the Nana, running towards her. "Someone, help me!"

Ryan hurried towards the scene, and, grabbing Kirstin up in his arms, carried her off to the bedroom. He lay her in her bed and covered her up in the silk sheets, and pulled the thick cover up to her chin. He felt so sorry for her, and he didn't know what she was going to do.

Seth brought her a glass of water and some Valium, and then kissed her on the forehead. He turned to leave and was only halfway down the hall when Summer stopped him. She had been in the kitchen, talking to Zach, when she saw him. "Seth," she said, "Let me explain about earlier."

"Summer," snapped Seth angrily, "we're at a wake. I think that this can wait."

"Listen to me Seth," demanded Summer.

"I think your actions have made yourself clear," said Seth. He gently pushed her aside and began to walk towards the patio. Once he reached the pool house, he saw Ryan sitting on the bed. "Hey," he said to Ryan.

"Well," said Ryan, "I see you and Anna are together."

"To be frank," Seth mumbled, falling onto the bed beside Ryan, "I don't know who I am with right now."

"What do you mean?"

"I was with Summer, but all of a sudden she's sleeping with Luke."

"Hmm," said Ryan. "Ever think there might be a story to why she's sleeping with Luke?"

"I don't care." Seth pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up. "I'm through with girls." He let out a puff of smoke.

"You're gay now?" asked Ryan.

"Hahah," said Seth. "No, I am just tired of all the drama. Really. Do you think that I need to put up with all of this shit?"

"I don't know," said Ryan. "But if you don't put that cigarette out, you might not be here long enough to put up with much more."

"I'm gonna die of lung cancer?"

"You're gonna die of Ryan kills you because he doesn't like people smoking in his pool house cancer. Now put it out." Ryan grabbed the cigarette and threw it out onto the patio through the open door.

"You know what?" asked Seth.

"What?"

"I say we go do something?"

"Like what?"

"You wanna go to the Bait Shop?" Seth grinned slyly.

"You know what, that sounds like fun. Who's playing tonight?"

"Death Cab. I'm pissed that I missed it all those years ago."

"That was five years ago, dude."

"It was still Death Cab."

Ryan laughed. "Okay, should we invite the girls?"

"You mean invite drama? Why not?" Seth stood up. "Maybe there will be another drug trafficking convention there like the last time we went to the Bait Shop after a funeral."

"C'mon," said Ryan. "Let me change real quick and I'll be ready to go." Ryan began to unbutton his shirt, revealing his custom wife beater.

"Okay." Seth hurried out of the pool house. Time to get out of here. Too much drama. Way too much drama.

**Later**

Marissa sat at the bar beside Ryan. They ordered two beers and then began to talk, both trying to avoid the topic of Trey. That was when the bartender brought them their beers. But Marissa noticed that it wasn't the bartender they had ordered their beers from. It was someone different, a woman. With blonde hair and purple highlights. Who was very familiar. "Oh my God," said Marissa.

"Hey, Cooper!" said Alex, surprised.

"Wow, it's you," said Ryan, surprised. "What a coincidence."

"Coincidence? I've been working here for the past five years." Alex smiled. "If y'all wait, my shift ends at ten." It was nine fifty-five.

"Okay," said Ryan.

That was when Lindsay slid onto the barstool beside Ryan. "What are you talking about?"

"This is Alex," said Ryan.

"I remember you," smiled Lindsay. "Marissa's girlfriend, right?"

Marissa blushed. She ducked her head low, staring at her new shoes, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Yeah," said Alex. "We broke up…what? Five years ago, right?"

"Yes," said Marissa. "Five years ago…"

Kaitlyn sat across from Zach at the small table. She was sipping on her beer and staring eye-to-eye with Zach. "Thanks again for the beer. I haven't had one for like a week."

Zach nodded. "My pleasure."

Kaitlyn blushed. "You're so sweet."

She slid her foot up Zach's leg, shoving his pants up. She smiled as her foot slowly made its way to his crotch, where she began to massage it gently. "So, you want to go back to my place?"

"Your place?"

Kaitlyn grinned. "Mom and Dad rented me a hotel room right beside theirs. At the Four Season's. Want to come?"

Zach grinned. "Sure."

Kaitlyn smiled over at him as they stood, taking his hand in his. "I haven't been with an older boy before."

"That's okay." Zach wrapped his arm over her shoulders. "I'm a good teacher."


	8. Those Who Mourn the Loss of Love

Chapter Eight

Kaitlyn giggled as if she were a young girl while slipping the card into the lock and watching the light go from red to green. Once it turned green, she pushed the handle downwards and opened the door, motioning for Zach to go ahead of her. Then, after looking down the hallway and making sure that no one was watching her, she slipped into the suite herself. She poked her head out into the hallway once more and then Zach grabbed her around the waist, laughing the whole time, and pulled her back into the room. They laughed most of the time, their kisses being interrupted by giggles and snorts and sudden bursts of laughter. "That tickles," Kaitlyn would say when Zach kissed her on the side of her neck. She fell onto the bed and watched him as he began to undress himself. "Are we drunk?" she asked suddenly, out of nowhere.

"I'm not sure," laughed Zach. "Do you not want to do this?"

Kaitlyn said nothing but answered him by pulling her t-shirt over her head, revealing her bare breasts, perfect and round, like two small pineapples. Yes, she was more like her mother, not her sister, in having extremely large (natural) breasts. Zach stood there, awed by the beauty of her bosom, and said, "They're beautiful."

"Thank you," giggled Kaitlyn. She let him unzip her jeans and pull them to her ankles, and then throw the pair of pants to the floor. She looked back up at Zach, he now wearing only his wife beater and pair of boxer briefs. She kissed his lips softly, and this time they were not interrupted by laughter. The kiss was sensual and passionate and loving. Kaitlyn knew that now was the time to become serious. She moved her hand up and down his back, and then, no longer being able to control her passion, ripped the shirt over and off of Zach's head. His chest, she found, was muscled and toned. He had large pecks and a midway developed six pack. A small trail of hair led up his belly button and ended where his six pack began. She kissed his neck, slowly making her way down her chest, trying to be sensual and loving.

Then she began to pull down his boxer briefs, desiring him with such effect that she could barely stand it, but Zach stopped her. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Zach," she said, kissing his mouth. "I want to. Yes," she wrapped her arms around his neck and they fell backwards, nearly tumbling off the edge of the bed. "Don't you?"

Zach stuck one thumb on either side of her panties and slowly began to edge it down her ass, towards her legs. "Yes," he mumbled. "God, yes."

She pulled the cover over their heads, feeling as if she would be seen if she didn't, and they moved together, as one. She moaned with pleasure and, finally climaxing, fell at his side. She lay there, her head on his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist, and declared her love to him. But was it really love? They had been flirting for the past few days, Kaitlyn desperately wanting to get in his pants. But she couldn't be sure. She thought she loved him, but then again, she had never been in love before. Was this love, or was it lust?

**Meanwhile at the Bait Shop**

"Didn't they say they were going to go home?" asked Marissa. She was leaning against Ryan's shoulder, his arm draped around her, as they walked towards the car.

"Yeah," said Ryan. He kissed the top of her head softly, then released his hold on her in order to unlock the car door.

"Ryan," said Marissa, drunken. "Ryan, I love you."

"Marissa, that's just the beer talking," Ryan said, opening the door and sliding in, unlocking the other door for her. Marissa climbed in and immediately dropped her head into Ryan's lap, unconscious. "Great," Ryan said to himself. "Not this again." Ryan gently sat her up in the seat and then revved the engine, slowly beginning to reverse out of the parking lot. That was when he saw a girl standing directly behind the car, and had to slam on the breaks. "Lindsay?" he cried, shocked.

She walked around the car towards the driver's seat and motioned for him to roll down the window. "Can I get a ride? My car broke down when I was halfway down the road. I call the tow truck but they said that it might be a while."

Ryan nodded. "Climb in the back seat."

Lindsay smiled. "Thanks." She opened the back door and climbed in slowly. "What happened to Marissa?"

"Too much beer," he said softly, running a hand through the unconscious girl's hair. She was so beautiful, even in the stage of unconsciousness.

"Oh," said Lindsay. She buckled up and wringed her hands together in her lap. "Are you and her…eh…going out?"

"Not really," said Ryan, not paying much attention, trying to concentrate on getting out of the parking lot. "I think that she's dating someone in Phoenix."

"Phoenix, huh? I lived there for a while when I was little. Mom and I moved there when I was like five, but then we moved back to Newport because her old job was offered back to her, and it was an offer she couldn't refuse."

Ryan turned the corner and began to drive down the highway. They were silent most of the way to the house, and when they got there, Ryan took Marissa in his arms and carried her up the driveway, around the back of the house (in fear that her parents might be inside and he didn't want to embarrass her by letting them know that she had passed out from drinking too much) and to the pool house. He took off her shoes, and her coat, and as gently as possible he lay her in the sleeping bag and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Marissa." She moaned softly when he said this, then went back to sleep. Ryan stood and walked out onto the patio, where Lindsay sat, playing her oboe.

"Sounds nice," said Ryan. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing…just something that I composed." She looked up at him. "You want to hear it?"

Ryan nodded. "Sure. Why not?"

Lindsay held the end up to her lips and began to play. She sounded beautiful, Ryan knew this because he compared it to how she used to play and how she played now. Beautifully. After Lindsay finished the piece, she stood, taking the oboe apart and placing it back into her case. She walked over towards Ryan and smiled. "It seems like old times. Before I had to leave."

Ryan grinned. "I remember. What about the time Caleb and I had the pool match."

"Over me?"

The two laughed. That was when Lindsay suddenly grabbed Ryan, wrapping her arms around his neck, and began to kiss him passionately. Ryan pulled away, astonished at what they had just done.

"I'm sorry," said Lindsay. "I don't know what came over me."

Ryan stared down at his feet. "We can't do this, Lindsay. I'm not in love with you anymore."

"Ryan, I still have feelings for you--"

"I don't have feelings for you, though. I love Marissa, Lindsay."

"But she's dating another man--"

"We're working things out." Ryan looked over at the sleeping Marissa, snoring ever so softly, her mouth slightly agape. "Don't ruin this for us, Lindsay."

"I understand," said Lindsay. "The temptation is too great. I had better leave before…before I start something that I shall regret."

Ryan kissed her softly on the head. "If the circumstances were different, though, I want you to know that there could be a chance that we would be together. But right now, I'm in love with Marissa."

Lindsay nodded and, taking her oboe case, walked into the house. Ryan fell into the lounge chair and lay there for a moment. He hoped that he hadn't hurt her feelings, but of course he had. She was still in love with him, and he had shot her down. But it was worth it, because now he had Marissa.

Summer and Seth walked up to the house together. The whole night Summer had been trying to give an apology to Seth, but he would listen. She didn't know why, she just wanted him to hear her out. She had a reason for sleeping with Luke (although probably not that good of a reason in Seth's eyes). Summer just wanted Seth to listen. They were halfway up the walk when two men came running out of the bushes, armed with cameras which were flashing constantly as they approached the former couple.

"Mrs. Roberts!" came a cry from behind her. Summer turned around and saw that across the street, reporters and photographers lined the street, all running towards her, screaming their questions.

"Are you dating this man?"

"Why are you in Newport?"

"Is it for that man's funeral?"

"Were you close to the deceased?"

That was when one of the photographer's grabbed Summer's shoulder in an effort to spin her around. Seth, eyeing this attack, grabbed the paparazzi and slammed his fist into the man's nose. The man fell to the ground, his camera rolling towards the road, screaming in pain. "C'mon!" cried Seth, grabbing Summer's hand and leading her towards the front door. He shoved the door open, pushing Summer inside and then slamming the door shut after he himself got inside. "I'm calling the police," he said.

Seth had protected Summer! Summer knew that he must have some type of feelings left for her if he had punched a photographer in the nose for her! She grabbed Seth's shoulder and spun him around, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately. She shoved him against the wall, trying to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped her.

"Summer, stop. Just because I helped you--" That was when he noticed that she was crying. "What's the matter?"

"Seth, I love you." She put her hands over her face and sobbed.

"You cheated on me, Summer. After I broke up with my wife for you." Seth fell into a nearby couch and stared up at her. She sat down too.

"You don't understand," pleaded Summer. "Seth, after you broke up with me, I didn't know what to do. I cried over you for months. Then, finally, I managed to get over you. I began my career again, and I was on a roll. I was doing so good. And then, I got a part in a movie, and they were filming it in Portland, and I saw Luke….and we began a relationship…Seth, we never broke up. I left but we never broke up, and I still have feelings for him."

Seth was struggling to hold back tears now. "Then go to him. You love him. Don't stay with me because you feel sorry for me or whatever."

"I don't feel sorry for you, Seth…" She paused for a few seconds. "Seth, I love you, and the point is…I don't know who I want…there's you…I'm in love with you…but I'm in love with Luke, and it's so fucking complicated. I can't stand this, Seth. It's so hard for me. You don't even realize."

"You don't realize, Summer!" cried Seth, getting to his feet and pointing angrily at her. "I gave my whole self to you, more than once, and every time…every time you break my heart!"

"I am so sorry, Seth…and I really want this to work, but it's so hard for me!" She got to her feet and went to grab his hand but he jerked it away.

"Don't touch me…" He glared hard at her. "So you want both of us, huh?"

Summer was sobbing. "I don't know…I don't know…"

"Call me when you make your choice," said Seth, turning and making his way down the hallway, towards the stairwell.

She just stood there crying, not knowing what to do. Who should she choose? She loved them both.

That was when the doorbell rang, and Summer wiped the teas from her eyes and went to answer it. She pulled open the door and saw a fairly handsome, older man there. "Hi," he said. "May I come in?"

"Who are you?" asked Summer, scared he was a paparazzi.

"My name's Carter," he said, running a hand through his dark hair. "I just heard about Sandy. I'm a friend of Kirstin and Sandy's…may I come in?"

"Yeah," sniffled Summer, moving aside so that the man could enter.

"Thank you," said Carter, hanging his coat up on the hanger. "Where is Kirstin?"

"She's in the bed, but I'm not sure if she's in the mood to talk," said Summer, sitting back down on the couch.

"I understand," he said. "Is Seth and Ryan here? I want to talk to them, see how they are doing. And Julie?"

"Yeah, uh, Seth is in his room…Julie's in the kitchen, and Ryan's in the pool house."

"Okay," said Carter, walking down the hall. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Summer. She leaned her head against the soft pillow. What had she done? The biggest mistake in her life, sleeping with Luke. Now she might never be able to be with Seth again.

And at that thought, she burst into tears again.


	9. Nothing to Live For

Chapter Nine

When it comes down to it, in the end all you have left is love. Even when you've grown old and have entered your second childhood, when you loose all of your teeth and your hair, when your mind is gone, those who truly love you are the only things you have left. That is why it is always so important to love, and to be loved. Because who knows? You may be in an accident tomorrow, leaving you disabled, and the only ones you can depend on to stay be your side are those you love. So be true to those you hold dear to your heart, because love is like the sun. Sometimes it may appear to be unseen, but it is always there, shining through in the darkest hour, even when you have your back turned on it.

Summer lay in her bed that night, crying silently. Luke had left. She told him that he needed to, and he went to stay with his mother and brothers. She couldn't be around him that night, she had to be alone, to think about what she wanted for her future--who she wanted. She remembered her times with Seth:

When he had declared love to her in the coffee shop.

The first time they had made love, the time she had lost her virginity.

The time when she kissed him while he was wearing the Spider Man mask, when she returned to him, knowing she couldn't go to Europe with Zach.

The time when he left on the sailboat, seemingly never to return again.

The time at the prom, when he declared his love to her once again before all of the watchful eyes.

And Summer began to cry. What had she done? It was probably the biggest mistake of her life, sleeping with Luke. Yes, she loved him, but it wasn't a love that would last the years, that would outstand time. Her love for Seth would. And so she knew who she would choose, but that was only if he would take her back.

She stood and slipped her feet into the care bare slippers and began to tiptoe down the hall towards the staircase. She turned around the corner and made her way towards the room with the slightly ajar door. There she saw Seth in his bed, lying awake. He must be thinking about her too. She slipped inside the room and closed the door behind her. "Seth?" she said.

Seth looked up and saw her standing there. "Summer?"

Summer walked over to his bed and climbed onto it beside him, laying on a spare pillow.

"Summer…" he began.

"Shh," she said, kissing his lips softly, one hand caressing the back of his head, the soft curls of his hair. "I know who I want, Seth. I want you…"

She sat up and untied the strings that held her top together. Slowly, she let the blouse drop onto the side of the bed, and then fall to the floor. Seth stared amazed at her breasts, two perfectly shaped pieces of art, crafted by the hands of God. He kissed her again, pulling her closer towards him, and then pulled the shirt above his head. He still hadn't grown much hair on his chest since the first few times they had made love, just a trail between his pecks that led down to his belly, and then to his manhood. He slowly reached for her underwear, tugging it softly and rolling it down to her ankles, where he then threw them to the floor and examined her body for a few moments. "You're so beautiful," he said, glancing up and down her, then began to kiss her again, moving down to her neck, and her shoulders. He began to suckle upon her nipples softly, and lifted her so that she was stretched out above him, straddling his body. She untied the loose rope that tightened his sleeping pants, and began to move them down to his ankles, revealing his boxers. She slowly pulled those down too.

"Make love to me, Seth," she moaned, nibbling his neck softly. He slowly climbed atop her and began to move with her, as they made love, climaxing, moaning, sighing with passion. "Seth," she moaned. "Seth…"

Seth ran his hands up and down her body, her beautiful curves and shapes and proportions, taking everything in, breathing her, tasting her, feeling her. She was so lovely, so beautiful, and he couldn't believe that he had waited this long to be in her again. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I am so sorry," she said as they moved as one. "Forgive me."

"I already have."

She smiled as she lay beside him, her head rested on his chest, stroking the soft dark hairs. "I love you so very much. And I want to stay with you. Forever."

Seth nodded. "Same here."

She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Kirstin sat up in her bed, drinking the vodka straight from the bottle. Sandy was gone…Sandy was gone…She rolled over in the bed, the bottle still in her hand, and got to her feet. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was almost 12:30. Was it A.M. or P.M.? Kirstin grabbed her housecoat and made her way over to the door. She pulled it open and saw that the hallway was dark except for the occasional nightlight. She made her way down the hall, nearly tripping, and then found herself at the stairwell. That was when she saw him. The dark hair ending at his neck, flipping at the ends. His bright blue eyes. The grin of his bright pink lips. Sandy Cohen.

"Sandy," she called.

He motioned for her to follow him, and she obeyed, gracefully making her way downwards, stair to stair, despite the fact that she was drunk as a dog. She reached the bottom and saw him standing beside the kitchen table. "You want to be with me, don't you?" he said in his sweet voice.

"Yes!" she cried. "Oh, Sandy! I knew that you were alive!" She ran towards him but he backed away before she could reach him.

"You must come to be with me, Kirstin," he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kirstin.

He motioned towards a pile of dirty clothes in the washroom. Attached to one of the pairs of men's dress pants was a long black belt. Sandy wanted Kirstin to hang herself. She understood. He wanted her to kill herself so that she could come and be with him. And why not? She had nothing else to live for. Seth and Ryan were grown. They wouldn't be here for long. The Nana was getting old and, even though she had outlasted leukemia, Kirstin knew she wouldn't be here much longer. She was old.

Kirstin walked towards the pants, and began to take the belt from the loops. She knew that it was her time to go.

Ryan couldn't sleep that night. He sat up in the sleeping bag, watching the patio, the moonlight reflecting off of the surface of the pool's water. He sighed, wondering what would he do with his life. Would he and Marissa stay together after this? Or would she return to her boyfriend in Phoenix? He hoped for the former, but couldn't be sure.

And that was when he saw a figure in the kitchen. It was Kirstin. What was she doing up this late at night? He saw her walk into the laundry room. Why was she going to the laundry room at this time of night? Ryan, suspicious, made his way across the pool house silent, avoiding Marissa and Zach's sleeping bag (Where was Zach tonight? He wasn't here.) and opened the door, sliding outside. It was a little chilly, but he didn't care. His whole body felt numb to everything. To weather, to heat, to cold, to life. Sandy was dead, and he just felt sick to the pit of his stomach.

He opened the door to the house after making his way across the patio, and walked inside. That was when he saw Kirstin standing on a chair in the laundry room. She had a belt around her neck, and she had her eyes closed. Ryan knew what she was about to do. She was going to hang herself. Ryan grabbed a knife and ran towards her, but she heard him. Opening her eyes, she kicked the chair to the ground, and fell. Her feet didn't touch the ground, they just dangled there in midair.

Ryan leapt over the chair and grabbed the belt with one hand, beginning to hastily cut it with his other. "Crap," he said. Finally, the belt gave way and Kirstin fell to the ground. Ryan immediately loosened the belt and pulled it from her neck. "Come on, Kirstin. Don't go this way." He began to do CPR on her, but nothing worked. She just lay there, either unconscious or dead.

Ryan ran out of the room, found the cordless phone, and dialed 9-1-1.

"She's given up the will to live," said Dr. Elaine Perry.

"What can we do?" asked Seth, wringing his hands together. He was praying for his mother to be alright.

"Just cross your fingers and hope she wakes up," said Dr. Perry. "That's all we can do. Unless Kirstin finds the will, she won't make it."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Ryan. Dr. Perry turned and made her way down the hall.

Kirstin had been in a coma for the past two days. The group (Ryan, Marissa, Summer, Seth, and the Nana) had been staying at the hospital night and day, hoping that there was some chance that Kirstin would just wake up.

Why had Kirstin tried to kill herself? Did she feel that useless? That worthless?

Ryan wrapped his arm over Marissa's shoulder. She leaned her head against his, and said, "Do you think she'll wake up?"

Ryan spoke the truth. "I don't know…I don't know…"


	10. The Visit that Causes Awakening

Chapter Ten

Kirstin lay there on the bed, eyes closed as if they were sewn shut. Her cheeks were pale, contrary to the usual rosy color. Kirstin's eyelids were a light shade of blue, as were her lips. Her hands were weak, the skin tight revealing the purple and blue veins that carried blood to different areas in her body. The hospital outfit she wore which was a shade of white, was loose on her frail body. She looked so weak and defenseless, the cover pulled up to her chin, the ivy attached to her wrist. Seth was sitting in the chair beside her when Summer knocked on the door and entered the room. "Hey, baby," she said, walking over to Seth and wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, leaning his head on her shoulder while she sat in his lap.

"I'm hungry. Do you want to get something to eat? I think that the cafeteria just opened downstairs." Summer ran a hand through Seth's head of dark curls.

"I better stay here with mom."

"C'mon, Seth." Summer took his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Your mom will be okay while you go with me to get a bite to eat. Besides, you haven't eaten in days. You need food."

Seth sighed. "Okay, but we can't stay down there long. Something might happen…"

"Don't think about that right now, Seth." She kissed him gently. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

Seth nodded, but didn't really believe her. From what the doctor had been saying, there was little chance of her waking up. She had nothing to live for, and so she wasn't fighting for her life. She was giving up on them. Seth had cried often for the past few nights while he stayed with his mother. She had been in the hospital nearly a week, and he was beginning to lose hope. But then, two days before, he swore he had seen her move her hand. Just a slight little twitch, and he was overjoyed. But the doctors said that it was just his imagination. They said that he had wanted it so bad that it had come true, or in his mind it had, that is. Seth still believed that Kirstin had moved. It was a sign. He knew that she would wake up! He knew. But then hour after hour passed by, and her health decreased, and he didn't know what to do. Would she die? Would his mother die within two weeks of his father? This couldn't be happening. He couldn't lose his mother within the same month of his father. It just couldn't happen.

Seth followed Summer out to the hall, and she led him towards the elevators. She pressed the DOWN button, and waited a few moments. Then, they heard the soft DING! and the elevator doors opened, and Seth stepped into the elevator, followed by Summer.

They pressed the FIRST FLOOR button, and the doors closed before them.

**Meanwhile**

Carter crept down the hall towards Kirstin's room. He had been waiting all week for Seth to leave so that he could have some time alone with her. He snuck into the room silently, closing the door behind him and walking over to the woman who, for so many years, he had lusted endlessly over. Sitting in the recliner beside her, he began to talk softly to the patient. "Hey, Kirstin." Nothing happened. "It's Carter, Kirstin. You remember me. I used to work with you on the magazine…well, I just wanted to tell you what's been happening in my life lately. I haven't gotten over you since that day I left. You remember? Five years ago?" Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, she groaned. A sign of life, a sign of fighting. This encouraged Carter, and so he continued. "Kirstin, I love you. I have loved you since the first day I saw you. Do you believe in love at first sight?" Kirstin groaned again. "Is that a yes? I'm going to take that as a yes. Kirstin, if you have feelings for me too, if you want to try and work this out, please wake up. Kirstin, I love you. If not for me, wake up for your family. They want you here so badly. Don't give up just because your husband died. If I know you, and I think that I do, you won't give up that easily. Come on, Kirstin. Fight it. Don't go towards the light. Turn around, come towards me. Fight it, Kirstin. Fight it for all of us." Kirstin's head began to roll from side to side. Carter was shocked, and nearly couldn't speak, but he knew that he had to continue, for Kirstin's sake. "Kirstin, if you want to live, and I believe that you do, you have to wake up. Don't give in. Don't let death take you. Fight it. Come back. Come back to Earth, to me, to Seth, to Ryan, to those who love you. I know that you miss Sandy, and I believe that everyone does, but that is no reason to kill yourself. Come back. Come back. Come back." That was when her eyes began to flutter open. Carter heard footsteps coming down the hall, and he knew that he had to leave. He rushed out of the room and ran down the hallway as fast as possible. He couldn't be seen with Kirstin, not after her husband's death. But he wanted to see if he could help her, because he loved her so very much. He wanted to see if he could bring her back to life.

**Downstairs **

**The Cafeteria**

Seth bit into the hamburger. It was so juicy and delicious. He took another bite, then grabbed the slice of pizza, and began to eat it too. Next, he grabbed a handful of fries and shoved them into his mouth, followed by a large gulp of coke.

"Damn," said Summer. "You were starving.

"Yeah," said Seth.

"Paging Seth Cohen. Paging Seth Cohen. Please come to room 525 in the Intensive Care Unit. Paging Seth Cohen."

Seth gasped. "No…fuck no!" Seth threw the seat to the side and darted towards the exit of the cafeteria. Summer ran after him. "I knew this would happen if I left! I knew that she would…I knew it!" He pressed the UP button, then saw the emergency exit staircase and, shoving the door open, began to climb the stairs. The alarm went off, but he didn't care. He darted up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and shoved the door to the fifth floor open, finding a rush of nurses and doctors in a panic. Seth charged down the hall towards the intensive care unit, turned the corner, and found his mother's room. He ran inside, and received the biggest shock of his life.

"Carter? Where's Carter?" Kirstin said over and over.

"Mom!" cried Seth, running towards her. He embraced his mother with his full strength, nearly squeezing her to death.

"Seth," she said, out of breath. "You can let go now."

Seth fell into the recliner beside the chair. "I am so glad you're all right, Mom!"

Summer ran into the room a few seconds later. "Oh my God! Mrs. Cohen? You're awake!" She hugged her gently, then Seth and Summer kissed passionately. "Thank God."

"I think dad was watching over us," said Seth. "I think he sent you back because he knew it wasn't your time."

Kirstin didn't say one thing. She knew it wasn't Sandy who had brought her back. He had almost killed her, although, probably, it had just been the alcohol talking at the time. But the person who had brought her back was Carter…but where was he?


	11. Everyone's Making Love

Chapter Eleven

In a week, school would start in Newport, California. Kaitlyn and her family had been there for nearly three weeks at the time, and she was shocked at the news that her father gave her one Monday afternoon. He was sitting across from her in Kaitlyn's parent's suite in the Four Seasons when he began to speak. Her mother sat beside him, stroking his back with her hand. "Kaitlyn," he said softly, "we have some news."

"Yes, father?" She wanted to go ahead and get this over with. She hadn't practiced her cello in nearly a week and she needed to start back today or risk getting off her practice schedule.

"Your mother and I have been talking about this, Kaitlyn, and we believe that we have come up with a decision."

"A decision for what?" Kaitlyn was confused.

"For the past six years, we have sent you to school in Boston. You have been away from us for far too long. We believe that it is past due time to bring you back to Newport, where you belong. We want you to attend Harbor, while we live here with you. We regret not being as a family for as long as we have. It has been a mistake on all of our faults, and I believe, along with your mother, that we should at least try to start now, rebuilding our family, step by step."

Kaitlyn was shocked. She wasn't going back to Boston? But why? She loved the school. It was so wonderful, and all of her friends lived there. What would she do now if she was sent back to Harbor? She hadn't been in Newport schools for so long, and now all of her friends would hate her. She couldn't go to school here. She would have no friends, be way ahead of everyone, and be bored out of her mind.

"But father, I believe that the best decision would be to send me back to school in Boston." Kaitlyn wrung her hands together, fearful of what her father would say.

"No, Kaitlyn. We disagree."

"But father--"

"Our decision is final." Jimmy held Julie's hand tightly. She had been nervous also about the decision and Kaitlyn's reaction.

Kaitlyn stood and, in fury and hatred, ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Do you think she will be okay?" asked Julie.

Jimmy kissed the top of Julie's head. "I know that she will be just fine."

Julie kissed Jimmy softly on the lips. "The bedroom?"

Jimmy grinned. He pulled her towards him and ran his hand down her back towards her skirt. He began to pull the skirt down her legs, revealing her pink underwear. He pulled her tank top up over her head, revealing her large, succulent breasts. He began to suckle on them softly, then kissed his way down to her underwear, which he removed with a quick swipe of the hand. Julie unbuttoned his shirt, kissing her hairy chest, and made her way down to his pants. She unbuttoned them, unzipping them slowly. Jimmy groaned. "After all these years we still have great sex."

Julie smiled and began to slowly pull his boxers to his feet, throwing them to the floor. That was when Jimmy suddenly took her up in his arms and laid her on the table. He climbed up behind her, straddling her, and began to kiss her passionately. In a frustrated hurry he jerked down her panties and began to enter her, hot and sweaty, he ran his hands up and down her body, kissing every part of her face, as he went deeper and deeper into her. She moaned in ecstasy. "Yes, Jimmy, yes!"

Jimmy messaged her breasts sensually, then kissed her neck and nibbled on her lower lip. "Julie…"

Julie clawed her hands into his back, moaning with pleasure. Finally, he rolled off of her and stood there, on the floor, staring at her body. "You're so damn beautiful. After all of these years, you still amaze me with your beauty."

Julie smiled and sat up. "Make love to me…again…"

Jimmy grabbed her and kissed her passionately, then carried her into the bedroom, shutting the door behind himself.

Kaitlyn sat in the chair, the cello resting between her legs as she moved the bow over the strings. She closed her eyes, listening as she played. It even soothed her, her own beautiful music. That was when the door opened. She turned and saw Zach walking in, turning and locking the door behind himself. She smiled but continued to play.

"It's beautiful." Zach walked over to her and began to kiss her neck. "Just like you are."

Zach began to unlace her shirt from the back, sliding it down her shoulders, down her arms, towards her hands. She stopped long enough to let she shirt fall to her lap. He was already undressing himself, down to his boxer briefs. Kaitlyn couldn't take it any longer. She dropped the cello, letting it crash to the floor, and turned to see Zach. She quickly kicked off her pants and unsnapped her bra, then ran towards him. She cupped one hand on either side of his face, kissing him passionately. She reached down and began to fondle his manhood before falling to her knees and pulling his boxers to his feet. She watched as he knelt down beside her and gently took one of her breasts, caressing it with his tongue. She moaned with pleasure, and then rolled so that she straddled him. She slid her own panties to her feet, and then let him enter her, moaning as she moved above him.

Later, she played for him, bare naked. He loved to listen to her play after they made love. He loved to watch her, to hear the beautiful music she made. Zach loved this girl so very much.

Seth went deeper and deeper into Summer as he pressed his body against her own in the shower. She moaned with pleasure as the water beat down on her face. Her well lathered hands messaged his scalp, his back, his ass. She moaned as she wrapped her legs around him, crying out as he went harder and harder. "Yes!" she moaned. "Yes, Seth! Yes!" He ran his hands up and down her body, messaging and suckling her breasts with such care.

"I love you, Summer," he mumbled so sensually. "I love you."

She dug her hands into his back as he went harder and harder and harder, the two climaxing to the ceiling.

Marissa sat on the bed, reading her magazine, when Ryan entered. He was wearing his wife beater and a pair of dark blue jeans. She smiled, glancing up at him, wearing her silk nightgown. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he said, sitting down beside her.

She could see his strong muscles even through the wife beater. They flexed as he moved, his well toned pecks and six pack. She kissed him gently on the lips. They were doing well in their relationship. Marissa felt that she really loved Ryan with all her heart. Probably because she did. She ran her hand along his stomach as he lay beside her. Then he began to kiss her again. Passionately. He ran his hand up her nightgown. He felt the woman part of her, then her breasts, which he messaged ever so softly.

"Ryan…"

He kissed her harder. She ran her hand up the back of his shirt, then pulled it over his head. Ryan was already pulling the night gown up and off her shoulders. She moaned pleasantly as he kissed her small breasts, massaging them with his tongue. She moaned with pleasure. He unbuttoned his pants, slipping them down off his legs and kicked them to the floor. Ryan struggled to pull her panties down her legs, throwing them across the pool house, then began to enter her with quick, forceful thrusts. She moaned in ecstasy. "Yes!" she cried. "Yes, Ryan! Love me! Love me!"

When they had finished, Marissa lay beside Ryan, stroking his smooth chest lovingly. "It was wonderful," she said, kissing his neck.

"You were wonderful," he said.

They kissed softly.

Everything would be okay.

Everyone in Newport was in love. Everyone was loved.

Maybe everything was going to work out after all.

Kirstin lay on her bed staring at the picture of Sandy. She missed him so much, she had loved him so much, but she knew in her heart that it was time to move on.


	12. First Day of School

Chapter Twelve

"Did you ever think," said Marissa, laying her head on Ryan's chest, "that we would end up this way? Together I mean?"

Ryan shook his head. "I depends when you asked. Six years ago, yes. Five years ago…maybe? From then on, no. Why? Because I never expected to see you again."

"Are you happy to be this way…together?" Marissa looked up at him and their eyes met.

Ryan kissed her softly on the lips. "Does that answer you question?"

Marissa smiled, stroking his chest gently with her hand.

It was nearly a week later, and they were still together. It was, not sarcastically speaking here, one of their longest times together. And Marissa was loving it.

But then she got a phone call from Gary.

Kaitlyn grabbed her backpack and purse, slinging the backpack over her shoulder and adjusting the headphones for her iPod. Damn. It was the first day of school. In Newport. Which, the two together, would probably equal the WORST day of her whole life. She ran a hand through her hair, which she had just spent two and a half hours straightening. She looked over at her father, who was just finishing up his breakfast and thought, dear GOD old man, hurry the FUCK up.

They had just moved into a three million dollar mansion near the Cohen household. They had barely finished unpacking by the time school started. Kaitlyn looked down at the schedule she held in her hand.

First Period: Calculus

Second Period: English V

Third Period: Chemistry

Fourth Period: Government

Kaitlyn sighed as her dad opened the door and let her leave first. He climbed into the driver's side of the car (he refused to let her drive until she was nineteen!) and she climbed into the passenger's side. Jimmy revved the engine and began to reverse out of the driveway.

Kirstin sat at the café drinking her latte. She was flipping through her copy of Vogue when she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. Kirstin turned around, and saw that Carter was behind her. "Oh my God, Carter…what are you doing here?"

Carter grinned. "I was passing by and I saw you here, so I thought that I would stop by and say hello." Carter sat down in the seat across from Kirstin. "So, what has been up lately?"

"Nothing much," said Kirstin, taking a sip from her latte.

Carter didn't mention Sandy. He knew that she didn't want to talk about it, probably not for a while. So he avoided the subject. "How has work been?"

"I've retired," said Kirstin. "Julie's running the business full time from her station in Hawaii."

"Hawaii? Wow…"

"Yeah, but she and Jimmy recently moved back here, so I guess that the business will move back also." Kirstin stirred her drink slowly. "What about you? What's been up lately?"

"Nothing really. I was married for about a year, but my wife and I couldn't really work things out. So we broke it off. My daughter, Elise, is going to harbor now."

"Really?" said Kirstin, surprised. "What's she like?"

"Get her!" cried Elise, pointing at Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn began to run, flying down the hall as fast as she could. She didn't _mean _to spill the coke on Elise's new blouse. She barely knew the girl. But apparently, that didn't matter to Elise. So she sent her "girls" after Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn turned the corner, running down the steps two at a time. She made it to the bottom and ran towards the large fountain in the center of the courtyard. Taking a left, she darted towards the tennis court, then she made a right and ran back into the school. She found an empty janitor's closet (except for the janitorial supplies), jerked the door open, ran inside, pulled it closed, and ducked low in the corner.

She heard the girls running by, screaming and shouting, stomping their feet. She heard them asking people whether they had seen Kaitlyn running by or not. That was when, out of nowhere, the door to the janitor's closet was jerked open. Kaitlyn squinted her eyes closed, ready to be pounded in the head by one of the girls, but when she looked up, she saw and elderly looking gentlemen standing there in a blue jumpsuit and a blue hat. Kaitlyn held a finger up to her lip, motioning for the janitor to keep his mouth shut, and he obeyed. He sat the broom down beside her, turned, and shut the door behind him.

Kaitlyn stayed there for a while, and then looked at her watch and saw that the bell for classes was about to ring. So she got to her feet, brushing herself off, and stumbled out of the closet, looking both ways to make sure none of the girls were in eyeshot, and then darted across the hall to the corner of the hall where it was darkest. She stayed there until she was sure that she was safe, and then began to creep along the hall, making sure that she was keeping close to the wall, in the shadows.

That was when she saw a door near the end of the hall open, and three of the "girls" come out. Kaitlyn cried out in horror, then turned and began to run towards the exit, but not before they saw her.

"Get her!" they cried. The three girls began to run after her, followed by even more girls who had heard their cries. Kaitlyn nearly made it to the fountain before they caught her. The girls carried her to the back of the school where there was a large green dumpster. They threw her inside, then found an old chair left for the dump truck to take away, and broke off one of the legs. The stuck the leg through the handle of the top of the dumpster, so that Kaitlyn couldn't escape from the inside.

And that was where Kaitlyn stayed until a janitor found her later that day.

And for the whole next week she smelled like tuna.


	13. Caught in the Act

Chapter Thirteen

Some things in life are completely and totally unforgivable. These things include murder, adultery, kidnapping, abuse. Some people find themselves able to forgive these crimes to humanity, others bear the suffering of remembrance, to the point where they cannot hold it in any more. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who forgive, and those who do not forgive. They can also be classified into the category involving those who accept, and those who do not. Although this may be true, it is not, however, true that forgiving and accepting are the same thing. It is much easier to forgive someone than accept what they might have done. This goes for everyone, old and young, wise and mentally unstable.

One of the most feared things in life is change, and that is why people stay the same. There are several examples of this through time, but we have not the time to relay them. Most people do not fear **death**, but rather what comes with **death**. And that is **change**. When someone dies, they are no longer there. A mother cannot tell her child night time stories, or kiss them on the cheek as a farewell until morning. There are no more fishing trips between grandfather and grandson, no more hunting, no more long talks in the tree stands. And this is feared above all else. Because most people do not want to let go to what they have held so dear for so many years.

This is the same for Kirstin. She did not want to let go to Sandy. If she did, that would mean no more love for her. He would really be gone. Far away in a distant kingdom, laughing with God and telling him his jokes that everyone used to laugh at. If she let Sandy go, that would mean he would no longer be there to comfort her. And that is the sad part. He was the one to always comfort her in her time of need, and now, when Kirstin needed it most, he wasn't there to help her. He was the one she was mourning, the one she had lost.

And for this she hated God.

Kirstin turned the wheel, flooring the gas pedal and driving towards the cemetary. She wanted to see Sandy again, say her final goodbye. Kirstin had told herself several times over the past week that she had to let go, had to move on, and now was the time. It was time to let go, time to say goodbye to all of the memories she held dear. Not that she wouldn't still love Sandy--the fact was that her love for him could never die--it was just time for her to move on. It had been nearly a month since her husband had died from the heart attack and she couldn't stand another minute of weeping. Time to let go, she told herself. Time to let go. She pulled into the parking lot and opened the car door. Time to say goodbye to the man she loved, only to say hello (hopefully) in a few more years or so.

She began to walk up the path, and then stopped in her tracks. There, standing before her, was another woman staring down at Sandy's grave. Her long black hair lay on her shoulder, twisted in the curls just like the last time that Kirstin had seen her. Kirstin gasped, her hand going to her mouth, and then began to charge at the woman. She couldn't hold her anger in, her fury for this woman coming to Sandy's gravesite. For several months, she had taken Sandy away from Kirstin, nearly tore their love apart. Not now, not at her final goodbye.

"How dare you?" screamed Kirstin, grabbing Rebecca's shoulder and spinning her around. "How dare you come to my husband's grave after all of the misery you have caused us."

Rebecca was in a stage of shock. "I am sorry, Kirstin. I didn't know that you would be comin--"

"LEAVE!" screamed Kirstin, pointing towards the road. Her eyes were filled with tears, which were streaming down her cheeks. "Leave, goddamn you! Get away from me and my husband's grave!"

Rebecca sadly turned and began to make her way down the path and, in a hushed whisper, said, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry that I have to leave," said Marissa.

"Then don't," said Ryan, grabbing her shoulders and hugging her close to him.

"I have to, Ryan. His father just died, and he wants me to be there for him."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Not now..." Marissa stared down at her feet. "I mean, not right away, Ryan. I don't want to add too much to his plate right now. He can't digest all of this at once."

Ryan kissed her softly on the lips. "Okay. Well, remember that I love you." He turned her around towards the short line for boarding the plane, and gently pushed her towards it. "You'll be back in a week?"

"Hopefully sooner," said Marissa. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"You got the part!" said Summer's agent on the other end of the line. Summer sqealed with excitement.

"Really?" she said, flabbergasted.

"Yes," said Joe. "We need you to fly to New York tomorrow."

"What?" said Summer. "But I can't. I'm here with my boyfriend and--"

"Summer, I busted my ass to get you this part. The LEAST you can do is fly in tomorrow for the rehearsal."

"Okay," sighed Summer. "Let me tell Seth." She hung up the phone and began to walk down the hall.

Anna sat in the room, sobbing. Seth told her he didn't love her, that he loved Summer. He said that he didn't mean to hurt her, and he was sorry for using her to get back at Summer, but Anna just couldn't accept it. She loved Seth with all of her heart and all of her soul, and now she didn't know what to do. She lay there on her bed silent for a few moments, and then the bedroom door opened. There was Luke, standing there, a mere silouhette in the doorway.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey, Anna." Luke sat on the bed beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...it's just...Seth..."

Luke wrapped his arm around her. "He doesn't want to be with you?"

"He's in love with Summer."

Luke sighed, then looked Anna in the eyes. "The truth is, it's his mistake that he doesn't want to be with you. You are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen."

Anna's eyes glistened. "Really?"

Luke nodded, slowly leaning his head in. Anna began to lean in too, and her lips parted and met Luke's. They kissed for the longest time, then fell back on the bed, Luke running his hand up her shirt, feeling her soft skin. She ran a hand through his thick hair, kissing him harder with each second. That was when the door opened. Anna jerked up and saw Seth there.

"What?" he said, awed. "Luke and Anna?" Then he hurried out the room, stunned.

Kaitlyn pulled the top over her head and let Zach suckle her nipples. He began to unbuckled her belt, unzipping her jeans and struggling to pull them to her feet. He pulled his own shirt over his head, revealing his muscular chest, and began to move over Kaitlyn, entering her with quick thrusting motions. That was when her bedroom door flew open.

"Kaitlyn," said Jimmy. "I found this--"

That was when he saw the two in the bed, making love.

"Oh. My. God."


	14. Drama Isn't Just In Newport

Chapter Fourteen

"Please, dad," begged Kaitlyn as Jimmy grabbed Zach's arm and jerked him to his feet. Jimmy began to slam his fist into Zach's stomach countless times, every time hitting harder and harder than the last.

"You stupid bitch!" screamed Jimmy, slamming his head into the wall and then throwing him to the floor. Jimmy began to punch his face in the heat of passion, slamming him into the ground over and over again.

"Stop it!" screamed Kaitlyn, getting to her feet and running over to where her father knelt down on the floor slamming his fist into Zach's face over and over again. "Dad, please stop it! You're going to kill him!"

Finally, Jimmy seemed satisfied. He gave Zach one final blow to the nose and stood, brushing his hands off on the knees of his pants. "Come on, Kaitlyn. We need to have a talk about what you have been doing with...him..."

Kaitlyn was kneeling down over Zach, sobbing, trying desperately to whip the blood from his face with a nearbye towel. She struggled to help him to his feet, but Zach was too weak. "What have you done to him?" she sobbed. "What have you done?"

Jimmy turned and walked at the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Kaitlyn lay there beside Zach, sobbing for what she had lost. Zach lay there weakly, staring up at her, trying to speak but finding himself paralyzed.

Love can do all kind of things. It can break you down and make you cry. It can cause you to fight for everything you believe in, everything you fine nice and pure. It can cause you to lie there defenseless while you are destroyed ever so slowly, cause of something you have loved.

As Kaitlyn sat there crying, Jimmy was in the kitchen smoking a cigarette. Zach was laying on the floor, his nose broken, his face cut up. Julie watched the scene from afar, scared to attempt to intevene, fearing her own security. Kaitlyn, watching Zach lie there, knew how much he loved her. He was willing to be beaten to a pulp, to not fight back even though he could have defended himself, just so that he didn't hurt Jimmy Cooper, Kaitlyn's dad.

Jimmy drank the vodka by the bottle down the hall, sighing smoke and inhaling sucess. He turned and saw Kaitlyn struggling to help a weak Zach down the hall and smiled to himself. That bitch wouldn't be back anytime soon, ravaging his daughter of his own sexually pleasures. No, he was sure that he would never see Zach anywhere near him again. And that gave him comfort.

But what he didn't know was that Zach was filled with love for his daughter, and nothing could hold him back. He could take the beatings, hold the terrible words spoken to him inside his heart full of love for Kaitlyn, and never shed a tear. Jimmy had once known this love when he was with Kirstin, and then again some twenty years later when Julie and he were remarried after an adulterous affair.

Because, in the end, you want only what you can't have.

Zach couldn't have Kaitlyn, and so he would die for her.

Jimmy wanted Julie, even though, at the time, she was married.

And now everything was clear to Jimmy. He also had to fight for those he loved. And he would fight for Kaitlyn. Jimmy charged over to where she was helping Zach limp out the door, and jerked the damaged man away. He began to drag Zach towards the front door and, pulling the door open, threw Zach out onto the front steps. Zach moaned in pain as he tumbled downwards and finally came to a rest on the stone walkway. Jimmy stared down at him and then spit at the paralyzed boy. "Come back here and I'll have your balls, you stupid mother fucker."

Then he slammed the door shut, hoping to never see that wretched boy again.

**Phoenix, Arizona**

Marissa sipped the wine graciously and sat it back down on the table. "Thank you," she said to Gary's mother.

Gary's mother, name Helen, nodded. She didn't know where she was or what was going on: she was in a sort of trance. This terrified Marissa, never having been around someone in this state before. She turned and saw Gary talking and laughing with someone he had said was his second cousin, a beautiful woman named Tracy. Tracy smiled at Marissa and motioned for her to come over. "Gary was just telling me," said Tracy, laughing, "about the time you two were on the ski slope."

"Oh he did, did he?" said Marissa, surprised. She went to laugh also.

Tracy smiled, and then she must have spotted someone, because she hurried off to greet them. Marissa stood there in the company of her boyfriend of two years and smiled. "So," she said, "How's it been since I left?"

"FIne," said Gary. He touched her hand softly, "but I really missed you, Marissa."

Marissa stared down at his hand, touching her's. He was so sweet, so kind, the perfect boyfriend--even husband material. She kissed him gently on the lips. "You're so sweet." Marissa couldn't give up the relationship that she had with Gary just to be with Ryan, who she had major lust for. So what if she was really attracted to Ryan in every aspect? It was almost the same with Gary. And Gary always trusted her, even when he found out that she had seen her former boyfriend there. So far she had left out the detail that they had been having a passionate affair. But Marissa would call it quits. She couldn't be with Ryan. He wasn't husband material, right? And she had something so good with Gary. No, she would stay with Gary, and forget all about Ryan, but first she had to call him.

**New York City, New York**

Summer had left Seth in the hotel so that she could go down to Yugi's and get a few headshots done. He was down there in the studios, a broad smile on his face. "I have missed you for so long." They embraced, and then he motioned for Summer to get dressed. She didn't tell him that she was over him, that she had moved on since her trip to Newport. She didn't tell him that her boyfriend was waiting in a hotel across the street, watching MTV or whatever. She just dressed and began to pose for the camera, smiling and giving her seductress look and her sweet girl look and her girl next door look. That was when Yugi smiled and said, "It is all over. We are done for the day..." That was when Yugi began to approach her, putting one hand on each of her shoulders. "At least with photos, that is..."

"Yugi," said Summer, pushing him away. "I can't."

"What? But I thought we were together? You have never had a problem with this before. Why start now?"

"Yugi, when I went back to Newport..."

"Shh," said Yugi, kissing her passionately.

"Stop it, Yugi!" screamed Summer, shoving him away. "I moved on! I met up with my old boyfriend and we're back together! Now stop!"

Yugi stood there, shocked. "What? YOU MOVED ON? HOW DARE YOU, YOU STUPID SLUT?" He charged at her, grabbing her around the neck and beginning to choke her.

"Stop it!" she squealed, desperately trying to kick him off of her.

"No, you stupid bitch!" He pulled her dress up over her head and began to unzip his pants.

"Stop!" she screamed. She kicked Yugi in the stomach, nocking him backwards, and scrambled to her feet. She began to run, frightened, towards the exit, when he grabbed her ankle, dragging her to the ground.

"No one does this to Yugi!" screamed Yugi. "No one!"

**Newport, California**

Ryan was sitting in the chair, reading the comic book when the phone rang. Ryan answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ryan?" came the voice from the other end.

"Hey, Marissa. What's up--"

"Ryan, I called to say it's over."

Ryan sat there in silence for a moment, and then spoke. "What are you talking about?"

"We...we're over, Ryan. We can't be together. I came back to Phoenix and I saw Gary again and I...I just can't do that to him." Marissa was fighting back tears now.

"I don't understand," said Ryan. "I thought...I thought we were doing so good together."

"I just can't do this, Ryan. We know how it will end. You'll end up getting mad and go back to Chino and..."

"Are we breaking up?" Ryan waited for her answer.

Finally, she spoke. "Goodbye, Ryan."

Click.

And then he heard the dial tone.

**New York City, New York**

Summer kicked at him desperately, clawing at the carpeted floor and trying to get away. She reached for the backdrop, clawing at it desperately, then turned and saw Yugi crawling farther towards her. Summer screamed, pulling the backdrop, and then it fell. Suddenly, all around her, the large lamps were falling like dominos.She cried out as one fell towards her, nearly crushing Summer whole. It landed on her waist, nailing her to the ground. She lay there for a moment, knowing that there was no way that she could get away now, then looked up and saw Yugi laying beside her. His head was crushed in by a large lamp that had toppled over on him--his body lay there in a pool of blood.


	15. The Mistake

Chapter Fifteen

Everyone makes mistakes. There are those who regret those mistakes that they make, those who think not about them, caring not, feeling not, and those who are in denial. No matter what you do, or how you deal with these mistakes, they are always there, waiting for you, following you around. They are hiding in the darkness, watching you, waiting for you to make that one mistake that will reveal all of your other mistakes around you to all those that you love and care for. Some of these mistakes can be tiny dents in your past that only you think about--those of other categories, life changing situations, can appear and destroy all that you have built in your life, all that you have worked hard for, all that you live for and would die for and, in the end, may have to. There are several types of mistakes, and several types of people who deal with the different, life changing mistakes. You have the choice, everyone does. And now, in this very story, there are those who have to deal with their own mistakes.

There is Summer, who accidentally killed Yugi while trying to escape from his vicious rage.

There is Marissa who fears what is to come, and therefore destroys everything that she has built.

How will they deal? What will they do? Will they be responsible, care not, or be in complete denial? It is their choice, and their responsibilities.

**New York City, New York**

Summer kneeled there in the pool of blood, staring there at the lifeless body in seeming awe. She wasn't really aware of what had happened as of then. She knew that it was something bad, something that she could be accused of, something that she didn't want to be accused of doing. She knew that she was sitting there in a pool of blood, mouth slightly agape, wanting to scream and cry and puke everywhere but being unable to do so. She wanted to pick herself up and run, run away from the building, from the area, from the city, from the state, from the country. To hide herself in the darkest corner of the world and never move. That was when it began to register in her head what had just happened to her and Yugi. Summer had been trying to run and he had stopped her. When he pulled her to the ground, Summer had made a grab for the backdrop, pulling it down with her. When she pulled down the backdrop, it knocked down the lamps around her, like dominos. Summer had screamed as she saw them fall, one by one. Two had nearly crushed her, and, when she had looked up, she saw Yugi lying on the floor in a pool of blood. But just because he was bleeding, that didn't mean that he was dead, right?

Oh no.

She had killed a man, even if by accident. She had caused the death of a man she had once loved, and now she didn't know what to do, where to turn. Could she tell Seth? Go to the police? But how it looked…it looked as if Summer had deliberately killed Yugi, killed him on purpose.

But it wasn't true.

It was all a really big accident.

If he was dead.

But she couldn't touch him, because if she did and he really was dead, then she would have touched him and her fingerprints would be on his body and that would be too much evidence, enough to prosecute her for the death of Yugi.

Summer just sat there, staring at his body, emotionless. She didn't know what to do, so she just kneeled there, over his lifeless body, until someone came into the room.

It was his assistant, a young woman named Candy.

Candy gasped, standing in the doorway, shocked. "What happened?"

Summer didn't speak.

"Summer, what happened?"

"The light…" Summer looked up at Candy, her face pale as a ghost. "The lamp fell and…" Summer's emotions finally kicked in, as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "And the lamp smashed into his head and killed him and I just sat here and I don't know what to do!" She grabbed Yugi's body and hugged his head to her bosom. "Yugi!" she sobbed. "Yugi, what have I done?"

Candy backed away slowly, her eyes all the time focused on Yugi. Once she reached the hallway, she turned and ran as fast as she could towards the nearest phone.

**Phoenix, Arizona**

Marissa had returned to her home before Gary left the wake. She wanted to just climb into bed and fall asleep. She began to walk down the hall towards her bedroom, it was dark and she could barely see, but it didn't matter. She knew the house by heart and she was so tired she could have just fallen asleep on the floor. That was when she saw the beams of lights stretching through the windows and she knew that Gary was pulling into the driveway. She pulled open the bedroom door, walking in and beginning to undress. Once in her pajamas, she walked over to the bed, ready to climb in and go to sleep.

That was when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her towards the closet and putting his hand over her mouth. She tried to scream but couldn't. "Shut up, bitch," said the man. Marissa was sobbing, trying to be still so that he didn't have any reason to kill her.

That was when Gary walked into the room. "What the--" he began, but the man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Marissa and said:

"Give me your fucking watch or I'll blow this girl's head off."

Marissa's thoughts shot to the fact that he would just throw him the watch and the thief would take it and run away. But she was shocked at what Gary did next. He grabbed a nearby lamp and began to charge at the thief and Marissa.

Marissa managed to scream just as the gun went off. Luckily, the thief had pulled the gun away from Marissa's head and was pointing it at Gary. He shot him in the legs, and then released Marissa, who immediately fell to the floor sobbing.

The thief, who Marissa saw was a tall black man with a ski mask over his face, walked towards Gary and began to take off his watch. Then he asked Marissa where any other valuables were, and Marissa told him where he could find her jewelry.

He sacked the house and then left, exiting through the window. As soon as she was sure that the thief was gone, she called the police. Once she hung up the phone, she turned back to Gary and looked at him. "Are you okay?"

Gary moaned, "Yes."

Marissa nodded and grabbed two suitcases she found in the closet and began to pack Gary's cloths into them.

"What are you doing?" asked Gary. He was shocked.

"You would have chosen a fucking watch over me," said Marissa, frustrated, throwing in many of his shirts. "You would have let me die."

"Marissa, I am so sorry--"

"I want you out!" screamed Marissa, zipping up the suitcase and throwing it out of the window which the robber had opened.

Gary stared up at her helplessly. "What?"

"After the doctors bandage you up. Find a house of your own. As soon as I pack up my stuff, I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?"

Marissa looked down at him, her face full of rage. Suddenly, it softened. "Back to Newport."

**Later**

As Marissa got ready to board the plane, she knew that something had sent her a message. Maybe God, maybe something else, but something. It showed her that she was not meant to be with Gary, that he was not a true love for her. And so Marissa was leaving, going back to Newport, and praying that, someway, somehow, Ryan would take her back.


	16. Returning and Leaving

Chapter Sixteen

Marissa descended down the steps towards the large parking lot. She had rented a car—a blue Mercedes, but she wasn't sure where the pick up was. Then she saw the large sign, and began to hurry towards it, brushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. She motioned for the man with the large cart (which held all of her luggage) to follow her. She was moving back home, permanently. She could only hope that Ryan would be as happy as she was.

She popped open the trunk of the Mercedes and motioned for the man to put the suitcases inside while she slipped the key into the lock. After he had finished and closed the trunk behind him, she tipped the man and then revved the engine, ready to go. She was going back to Newport, back to where she belonged.

**Harbor School**

**Newport, California**

Kaitlyn ran up the stairs, careful to make sure that Elise's crew could not see her. That was when she spotted Elise, her multicolored hair blowing in the California breeze. Damn. She had to make sure that she wasn't spotted or she would be swimming in the trash can by day's end. She looked at her schedule. The only class that she had with any of Elise's crew was Calculus and English. Gerry was in English and Monique was in Calculus. Monique was a really big black girl who loved to pound people. In fact, Monique had just pounded Kaitlyn last week, after she had accidentally slipped and called her a bitch when they were questioning her about Elise's cellular phone, which had been stolen the previous day. After beating her to a near pulp, they slammed her into Elise's locker for a few hours (which was actually pretty nice, having air conditioning and such) and finally removed her at the end of the day, only to carry her out to the large dumpster and lock her in there.

Kaitlyn stayed near the bushes, careful not to breathe. If she made the slightest sound they would hear her and it would be another day of missed classes and eating garbage (not that she did that voluntarily, of course only that, when they shoved her into the garbage can, her mouth was usually open and she usually tasted leftover tuna surprise or hamburger helper— oh yea).

Kaitlyn slid into the coffee shop/lounge area and fell into one of the seats, breathing hard, thanking God that she had made it.

That was when someone grabbed her hair, jerking her to her feet. Kaitlyn screamed, horrified, then turned and saw Gerry and Monique standing before her.

"Well, well, well," said Gerry, who was considered the talker of the group, doing all of the talking for everyone.

"Uh, please don't hurt me, Gerry…Monique…"

"Who said we were going to hurt you?" asked Gerry as Monique began to crack her knuckles.

"Well, from past experiences—" began Kaitlyn as Monique slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand, trying to intimidate Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn whimpered, fearing for her health and well being.

"Don't hurt me, I beg you."

"What have you done today?"

"Nothing, I swear."

"Let's see if we can read her mind. Monique, be a dear and slam her head open for me—"

"NO!" screamed Kaitlyn, bringing her hands up to her face in defense. "Please don't hurt me, I beg you!"

"We'll take you before Elise and see what she has to say."

"No!" screamed Kaitlyn. She turned and ran; darting past people carrying cups filled to the brim with coffee and blueberry muffins. "Help!" she screamed. "It's Elise! She's going to get me!" She ran out of the coffee shop, darting down the stairs towards the parking lot, and ran full speed ahead to her car.

She had to get away, had to go as far away as possible.

**New York City, New York**

Summer sat on the back of the ambulance, a large blue blanket draped over her shivering body, although she was not cold at all. She looked up at the detective and said, softly, "He was trying to rape me."

"Why was he trying to rape you?"

Summer shivered, remembering the scene. "He…I left a few weeks ago and went back to Newport, where I used to live. My old boyfriend was there and we got back together. When I came back, I told Yugi and he just went crazy on me. I swear. I tried to get away and he wouldn't let me. He held me down; trying to rape me…it was so horrible. I grabbed the backdrop, which was what I stood before when he was taking my pictures and…and it fell and…and I guess that it brought down the lamps with it."

"Were you and Yugi dating before you left?"

"Yes," said Summer, glancing down at her feet.

"Okay, that's all the questions I have for you at the moment. You can go."

Summer nodded, leaping down to the ground, and then spotted Seth talking to a police officer.

"But she's my girlfriend," said Seth.

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't let you past the tape—"

"Summer!" he called when he saw her. Summer ran towards him and they embraced, Summer sobbing. "What happened?"

"He tried to rape me!" cried Summer. "He tried to rape me!"

"Who?" asked Seth.

"I told him about you and he just went ballistic."

Seth hugged her head close to his chest and assured her that everything would be okay.

**Newport, California**

**The Mermaid Inn**

**Room 137**

Kaitlyn banged her fist on the door, but no one answered. She went downstairs and asked the owner if she could get the key to Room 137, that someone she knew was staying there. He told her that the man, Zach, he said, had already left. When she told him her name, he said that Zach had left a note for her.

Kaitlyn, tears running down her cheeks, unfolded the note and began to read.

_Dear Kaitlyn,_

_I am sorry that I had to leave like this. This was so soon and sudden, I know. This doesn't mean that I am gone forever, Kaitlyn. I am returning to Las Vegas for a short while to determine what I want to do with my life. This is very complicated for both of us, Kaitlyn. I would advise you to think about this whole situation also. I love you, and I want you to think about it, and when I come back, I want to know whether or not you love me._

_Sincerely,_

_Zach_

Kaitlyn held her hand up to her mouth, sobbing. Zach had left, but not forever. She fell to her knees, crying, wondering if he really would ever return.

Ryan was eating lunch at the Cohen house when the doorbell rang. He stood, ready to answer it. Walking to the door, he pulled it open, and was shocked at who he saw there. The rain was pouring down all around them, the ground was soaked, and there before him was Marissa Cooper, who he thought he would never see again.


	17. Raindrops and Tears

Chapter Seventeen

Everyone makes mistakes in lives. Some of these mistakes are repairable. We have already said how people deal with these mistakes, and now there is a new way, which I didn't mention before. This is when you face your mistake, when you know it, learn about it, and decide to try and repair it. There are people who want to do this and can't, and there are those that can and will not do so. Some of these people succeed and others don't. Either way, it is good that you try and horrible that you don't.

Try to fix your mistakes, try to make them better, even if you can't, even if it means everything in your life, just do it.

**Newport, California**

Marissa stood before Ryan, her heart and body dampened by the rain. She watched as his eyes quickly grew large, then slowly softened. She smiled gently at him, but then stopped, seeing that he was in no mood. "Why are you here?" he asked, angered. "I thought that you chose him. Gary or whatever. Why are you back here? Did you forget something? Need to talk to Kirstin or Seth? Maybe you want to have an affair with Zach and then break _his _heart and tell him that it was all a big mistake, that you are still in love with Gary and that you don't want him. Well, guess what: I don't want you back here."

"Please, Ryan," she begged. "I love you…I made a big mistake."

"It's too late," said Ryan. "You should have realized your mistake before you told me that you don't love me—that you don't need me, that you love whatever his name is. Well, I am tired of your shit, Marissa. I gave my whole fucking heart to you and look what you did. You took it and then you loved it for a while, then you got tired of me and ripped it up. You fucking ripped up my whole fucking heart. I am tired of your shit, Marissa. I don't love you any more, just like you said that you didn't love me."

Marissa was sobbing now, though you couldn't tell what were tears and what were raindrops flowing down her cheeks.

"Please, Ryan," she begged, taking his hand. "I am so sorry. I know that I made a mistake now, I know that I need you, that I want you."

Ryan's eyes narrowed to slits. "Go back to Gary." And he slammed the door in her face.

**An Hour Later**

The doorbell rang again and Ryan was just thinking: "How many FUCKING times do I have to tell that girl that I do not want her. I do not want her back, and I am confident that I never will. She betrayed my love and my trust. I will not let her back into my life." He hurried to the door and pulled it open, a look of fury on his face, ready to breathe fire from his mouth.

That was when he saw that it wasn't Marissa.

It was Carter.

**New York City, New York**

Summer lay in Seth's arms sobbing hard. It had been several hours since Yugi had died and she had been crying ever since. "What will I do? Will they put me in jail? Will they say that I am guilty? Oh, God, Seth! I don't know what to do!"

"Shh," he said to Summer. "I am here for you. I will make sure that everything will be okay." He kissed the top of her head and then began to stroke his hand along her stomach. The truth was, he was unsure. He didn't know if everything was going to be okay himself. "You want something to eat?"

"No!" she sobbed.

Seth sighed. What was he going to do?

**The Cooper Residence**

The doorbell rang and Kaitlyn put aside her homework. She stood and walked over to the front door, prepared to fight in case it be Monique or Gerry or someone who would love to smash her face in as of then. When she opened the door, though, she was shocked at who she saw.

There was Marissa, soaking wet. A blue Mercedes sat out in the driveway. Marissa was sobbing.

"Marissa?" she said, shocked.

"Kaitlyn," she sobbed. Then she embraced her sister, crying harder. What had happened to Marissa to make her so upset? Had she broken up with Gary? Something was seriously wrong. She hugged her sister close to her body, trying her best to comfort her, but knowing that she couldn't.

The truth was, Kaitlyn herself needed some comfort, some TLC.

And with that, Kaitlyn began to cry also.

**The Cohen Residence**

Kirstin was very happy to see that Carter had come to visit. She immediately poured him a glass of wine and sat down to talk. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and she was so glad to talk to him again. She hugged him upon encounter and they were immediately discussing what had been happening in their lives. Finally, when their conversations began to draw towards a close, Carter asked her something. Kirstin was shocked to hear this, she hadn't been expecting it, but she couldn't say that she was sad that he had asked. Actually, she was quite happy.

Carter had asked Kirstin Cohen out on a date.

**Meanwhile**

The phone rang

Ryan hurried to answer it, but was upset that he had done so. On the other end was a crying Marissa.

"Ryan?" she said, sobbing.

"Yes?" he groaned.

"Ryan, I need to talk to you."

Ryan sighed. He couldn't keep living like this. Finally, he gave in. "Where do you want to meet me?"

Marissa thought for a minute, then finally said, "The Bait Shop."

"The Bait Shop?"

"Yeah."

Ryan stood there in silence for a few moments. Finally, he said, "Okay, I'll meet you there in about thirty minutes or so."

Marissa sighed and hung up the phone.

She could only hope that he would _really _listen and think about what she had to say.


	18. The Accident

Chapter Eighteen

Kaitlyn made her way up the stairs slowly, not worrying about avoiding the Elise gang, because school had started nearly thirty minutes before. She walked up towards the large double doors, spying a tall, black haired man walking towards her. He was really cute, tall with blue eyes, and his hair was slightly spike near the front. Kaitlyn knew that she was in no mood (or dressed appropriately) to meet any cool guys, so she slipped inside the school before he could say hi or even see her. She hoped that he wouldn't see her looking like this, but she wasn't sure if he had spotted her down the walkway. Kaitlyn hurried down the hall, hoping he wouldn't enter the school behind her, but soon enough she heard the doors opening and there came the cute guy through the entrance, a few beams of light streaming through and lying on the floor, the dust clearly visible in its rays. Kaitlyn sighed, turning and seeing the guy walking towards her--well, almost running. He must have wanted to catch up with her, because he called Kaitlyn, trying to stop her.

"Hey," said the guy. "Can you tell me where the front office is?"

"New here?" asked Kaitlyn.

The guy grinned. "No, I have just never been down to the front office for anything."

Kaitlyn frowned, her eyes narrowing. "I don't believe you."

He grinned even broader. "Okay, you got me. I just wanted to talk to you."

Kaitlyn was shocked. Talk to her? "W-what?"

"I'm Reichen." He extended his hand, as if to shake, but Kaitlyn didn't move.

Tears began to fill up in her eyes. She tried to hide them, bringing her hands up to her eyes and wiping them away, but it was no use. Zach had just left her, and she couldn't very well just move on like this. Her heart swelled, then sank to the pit of her stomach. She felt as if she would vomit, and so she turned and swallowed whatever sickness she thought might come up from her stomach, trying to be calm.

"You okay?" asked Reichen.

Kaitlyn nodded, turning back around. "Yeah," she said softly. She extended her hand, forcing a smile. They shook hands, and then Kaitlyn said, "I'm Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn Cooper."

"Well, Kaitlyn," smiled Reichen, "would you mind escorting me to the front office?"

Would she mind? Would Kaitlyn mind? She swallowed hard, and then feigned laughter. "Uh, yeah."

They turned, Reichen's arm draped over her own, the two hurrying down the hall towards a sign that said FRONT OFFICE.

**The Bait Shop**

Marissa sat at the bar, drinking her beer, waiting for Ryan when she turned and saw him descending the spiral staircase. She couldn't smile; if she did that would mean that she was weak. Not weak physically, but rather emotionally. She had to hold in, had to be strong, even if Ryan told her that he didn't want to be with her any more. She watched as he sat down beside her on the tall bar stool and, before he even turned to say high to her, ordered at beer, flashing his I.D. to the bartender.

"Hey," she said when the bartender gave him the tall mug.

"What did you want?" Ryan's eyes glanced over in her direction, but immediately went back to watching the band playing.

"Ryan, I needed to talk to you about my choice--"

"I think there has been enough talking done."

"Don't be this way, Ryan."

"Don't be what way? Angry? Well guess what, Marissa. I am fucking pissed at what you did--"

"I know--"

"No! You don't know, Marissa! You don't know what you put me through! All the torment, the pain! I thought that we were working things out, that we would be together once and forever, but you went back to that stupid mother fucking Gary and threw everything that we had together away."

Marissa was crying now. "I am so sorry for doing that, Ryan, but please listen to me."

"I'm listening," he said angrily.

"Ryan, we all make mistakes. You can't say that you haven't too." Ryan's eyes narrowed in anger, but he said nothing. "The biggest mistake of my life was going back to Phoenix in the first place, and it took me a while to realize that. Ryan, I love you, and now I know that nothing can change that. Please, Ryan. Give me one more chance. Please. I am begging you. Ryan, I love you. I love you more than I have loved anyone in this world. Just…just….Please…" She wiped the tears from her eyes, waiting for a response.

There was a long pause between the two.

"I can't," said Ryan. "I just can't."

"Please!" begged Marissa. "Please, Ryan!"

He wouldn't even look at her. Marissa stood and ran off, stumbling up the spiral staircase towards the exit. Ryan watched her go, then knew that he had to run after her. When things like this happened, the first thing that she turned to was alcohol. Ryan stood and charged off after her, trying to fight his way past the crowd that was cheering on the band. He hurried up the stairs, watching her flee outside, the doors swinging open and shut.

She was gone, and Ryan sped up his pace. C'mon, he told himself. Don't let her get away. The next thing you know, she'll be dosed up on pain killers and alcohol, lying in an alleyway somewhere in Newport. Or worse yet…

That was when he sped up, feeling his stomach drop. No, this couldn't be happening. He couldn't let this happen. But yet he could tell what was occur from this event, he knew that it could be nothing but fatal. He shoved the door open, leaping out onto the sidewalk, searching left and right. That was when he saw Marissa running down the street, missing a shoe. Where the hell was her other shoe, and what had she done with it? He ran as fast as he could after her, heart pumping as fast as it possibly could. "Marissa!" he cried. "Marissa, stop!"

He couldn't let anything happen to her. He knew that now as he watched her slowing her pace, sobbing hard as she ran. He loved Marissa more than anything, but what she had done to him, how she had torn his heart from his chest and ripped it to shreds--it just couldn't be forgiven.

Marissa began to limp across the road, unable to walk normal, having lost one of her shoes. That was when, seemingly out of nowhere, a large red Mercedes came flying towards her. Ryan cried out, fearing that he would lose Marissa forever. He ran towards her as fast as he could, leaping in front of several cars, which in turn they slammed on breaks, screeching terribly loud.

And then everything in the world seemed to slow to nothing.

"No!" screamed Ryan. "Get out of the way!"

Marissa turned towards Ryan, and their eyes met. Her eyes, misty, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ryan ran towards her, tired yet speeding up the whole time as he gained distance, finally reaching Marissa and grabbing her around the waist. They dove to the side, rolling on the sidewalk and finally coming to a rest on a patch of dark green grass.

They lay there for a moment, Ryan hovering over Marissa, his arms wrapped around her. Their eyes met, and then Ryan leaned in, softly kissing her on the lips. "I am so sorry," he said, helping her to her feet.

They stared at each other for a while, the two leaning against the old pier railing. The floorboards beneath them creaked heavily as Ryan grabbed Marissa around the waist, pulling her up towards him as he forced a passionate kiss on her.

Later, they stood there for a while, staring at each other. Marissa leaned against the rail, in taking a large breath. That was when it CRAAACCCCCKKK! And suddenly the wood behind her split. It was old and rotten, and hadn't been repaired in years. She fell back through the cracked wood, screaming for Ryan as she descended downwards. He reached out his hand, trying to grab her own, but he couldn't reach. "Marissa!" he cried.

Marissa fell into the ocean then, splashing as she began to sink towards the ocean floor.

"Marissa!" called Ryan as he turned and ran from the pier, sliding down the sandy hill towards the beach. It had grown dark and he couldn't see in the blackness. "Marissa!" he screamed. "Marissa!"


	19. Searching

Chapter Nineteen

Whenever we make our mistakes, we have to pay for them accordingly. When we pay, we pay not only to those mistakes we have made, but towards society and those whom we have affected. These people, effected by our mess-ups, our downfalls, our terrible times, feel differently. Some take on a peaceful nature, agreeing to work with us, to not rebel against the rules of our government, our morals, our culture. But then there are others, the vengeful ones, those who will do anything to take back what they have lost, or at least receive some type of payment for such…

**New York City, New York**

Her eyes flared up in rage. How could this have happened? How could this have been? They were supposed to run off together after the money came in, after he had finished the shoot with Summer. Yugi had said that he would end the affair with Summer, that it would be no more, that he would completely be devoted to her, to Candy. But no, in rage he had to go and get himself killed. But it wasn't really he that had killed himself, it was that girl, that evil bitch, that Summer. Candy's eyes narrowed to slits as she glared out the window across the street, towards the hotel building. She could see the couple eating dinner as if everything was fine, as if the female in the set wasn't guilty of murder, of vicious senseless murder. Candy, her face red, biting her lower lip, struggled to pull open the window. Was she had succeeded, she took the rifle in both arms and fell to her knees, sticking the end of the rifle out of the window. She aimed carefully at the girl's head, ready to fire. She was going to blow that bitch's head off, get rid of her once and for all. She had already tried to do this once before in jealousy of Yugi. But now he was dead, and he wasn't there to stop her, because that bitch that he had been so in love with had killed him. She was ready to fire, ready to rid the world of Summer forever. That was when there came a knock at the door, and a voice calling, "Hello? Is there a Candy Brown here?" Candy sighed angrily. Who the hell was it now? Whoever it was should die, because he or she was ruining her plans for vengeance.

She set the gun in the corner, careful to make sure the safety was on so that it didn't go off when she was answering the door, and called to the person, "I'm coming!" She hurried towards the door, staring through the peep-hole, and saw that it was an older, balding man. She pulled open the door after unlocking it ever so slowly. "Hello?" she said softly, as if she had been sleeping prior to his visit.

"Oh, did I wake you, ma'am?"

Candy groaned. "Oh, just my beauty sleep. How may I help you?"

The man smiled. "I'm Arthur Balding--" At this Candy thought how convenient his last name was, laugh, "--from the Balding and Sons Attorneys at Law."

"I'm familiar with your firm, sir," said Candy, extending her hand to shake his.

"Yes," he said, refusing her greeting and rather shoving the glasses he wore farther up his nose. He stared up at her as if she were below him, scum off of the earth, and piece of undigested crap. "I am here to talk to you about the Yugi Torero case. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Actually, sir," said Candy, leaning against the door so as he couldn't see past her, "I haven't cleaned today--"

"Just a few questions--"

"I think that it would also be best if my attorney was here--"

"Please--"

"No!" Candy slammed the door in his face angrily. That was it. No more answering the door from now on. She turned and walked back over to the window, staring back over towards her targets, but saw that they were gone. That was when she heard a loud BAM! from behind her, and she turned around, seeing that several cops had just kicked down her apartment door. They ran in, eying the gun, shields up, and screamed for her to get on the floor.

Damn, this was just her luck.

**Newport, California**

Ryan ran out towards the beach, ripping the shirt from his chest and diving into the water against the crashing waves. Everything was dark around him, and he couldn't see a foot before him. Even though he knew that the chances of finding Marissa in these conditions were slim to none, he had to try, he had to swim and see if he could find her. Someone was calling for help, and he could already see several lights appearing on the beach as people ran towards the scene, screaming for help and trying to see if Ryan and Marissa were okay, trying to find out exactly what had happened.

Ryan dived deeper into the water, swimming hopelessly around, the whole time screaming Marissa's name. When he came back up to the surface, he saw that he had only strayed no more than a few feet from the shoreline. He quickly ducked back under the water, eyes wide, burning with the salty water as it splashed against his irises. He screamed, knowing no one could hear him deep beneath the surface, but still wishing the whole time that wherever Marissa was, whether lying on the shore somewhere, or floating above the surface, she could hear him. He knew she couldn't, but there was still that hope.

Ryan swam through the crashing waves, trying his best to stay above the surface even though he was being driven back and down with every wave. He cried out as he hit one of the large wooden poles that supported the pier, looking around. He cried out for Marissa again, trying to find her, scanning the waves but to no success.

That was when someone grabbed him. Ryan jerked his head in the direction of the touch and saw a tall man floating on a motor propelled boat there near him. There was a large flashlight shining down on his face, and Ryan found it hard to see past the bright glare. "Sir?" said the man. He reached down and grabbed both of Ryan's arms with each other his. "C'mon," he said, boosting him up.

"My girlfriend's in there!" said Ryan as they steered in towards the shore.

He looked back hopelessly at the crashing waves, feeling as if they would never find Marissa Cooper.


	20. Finding Happiness, Death, and Fear

Chapter Twenty

Ryan walked along the beach the next morning, searching the crashing waves as they neared the shore. He sighed, wondering if they would ever find Marissa. It had been nearly six hours since she had fallen into the water, and Ryan was beginning to give up hope. Several of the officers and search crew told them that there was probably little chance that they would find Marissa alive. He watched as they water nearly came to his shoes, but then retreated immediately. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and seemed to see something floating about twenty feet from the shore. Ryan gasped. Was it Marissa? He had no time to think, no time to process and put together all of the details, all he knew was that he had to bring her in, had to see if he could help her, save her, bring her back. Ryan quickly ran through the water, his pants becoming saggy and wet, weighing him down. He was swimming, fighting the waves as they crashed down over his head, diving deep into the water, trying to avoid the force as it desperately tried to bring him back to shore. "Marissa!" he called, in a gurgling way, catching a mouthful of water as he came up to the surface, searching for her desperately. "Marissa!"

He spit out the water and spun around, looking everywhere. Then he saw her, he had passed her while swimming. He turned and swam back towards her, his eyes stinging in the salt water. "Marissa!" he cried, grabbing her and pulling her towards him, hugging her close to him.

But then he noticed that it was only a piece of driftwood, a fairly large piece that had been floating towards she shore. Ryan sighed angrily, depressed, and began to make his way towards shore, tears streaming down his cheeks, mixed with the salt water.

That was when he saw a pile of people crowded up in the rocks near the edge of the beach. They were midway up, screaming in shock and surprise. What had happened? Was someone hurt? He quickly began to run towards the scene, hoping that it wasn't one of the searchers who might have accidentally hurt themselves in the rocks.

He fought his way through the crowd, searching for what they were all looking for. When he reached the front, he saw a medic tending to someone who was laying on the rocks. He and another medic lifted the person onto a stretcher and began to carry him or her off towards an ambulance near the road. Ryan ran to catch up with them and asked what had happened. They said that they had found someone in the rocks, apparently she (they said that it was a woman) had washed up during the night. Before they could say another word, Ryan ran towards the stretcher and, shoving the medics aside, found a recognizable face laying there before him.

"Marissa?" he gasped.

She was staring up at him weakly, and forced a smile. "Hey, Ryan. Are you okay?"

Ryan hugged her tightly. "Are _you _okay?"

"Yeah, I think," she said as the medics shoved Ryan out of the way and began to lift the stretcher up into the ambulance.

"I love you, Marissa Cooper!" called Ryan as they shut the ambulance doors. He watched as the ambulance began to fly down the street, siren wailing, lights flashing. He sighed to himself, then turned and saw that several people had been watching him. He smiled and said, "I'm in love with that girl." He wasn't sure if they could hear him or not, but it didn't matter. He had spoken the truth, and erased his mistake for the moment.

**Las Vegas, Nevada**

"I don't know how much longer I can do this, Gabrielle," said Zach, buttoning up his shirt.

"C'mon, baby," smiled Gabrielle, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek.

"Stop," he said, pushing her away.

"What? What are you doing, Zachary?" Gabrielle took on her pouting face.

"I love someone else," said Zach.

"Someone else--who?" Gabrielle was shocked. "Is it Vera? That bitch…"

"No," snapped Zach, grabbing her hand and turning her around towards him. "It is not Vera. It is someone from Newport…I didn't think that this could happen but…"

Tears began to stream down Gabrielle's cheeks. "You cheated on me?"

"Oh puh-leeze!" cried Zach. "You're fucking MARRIED! Don't act like that doesn't count as cheating."

"Please, Zach," begged Gabrielle. "I love you."

"I can't do this anymore." He turned, grabbing his hat, and began to walk towards the elevator.

"Don't do this!" screamed Gabrielle, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back, but he jerked away and continued to walk towards the elevator. He pressed the down button, then watched as the elevator doors opened. He stepped in and turned, and Gabrielle watched as the doors closed, and she knew that she would never see him again.

Gabrielle, in distress, found one of her husband's ties and strapped it around her neck. Then she pulled it as tight as possible, as the air began to be drained from her. She fell to the ground, gasping for air, her eyes closing. That was when her head hit the floor hard, and she stopped breathing altogether.

**New York City, New York**

Summer watched as the judge pounded the gavel. She sighed, closing her eyes, and wondering if she would ever see Newport again after today's trial. She waited, and, after the regular proceedings, she watched as the defense called Summer to the stand. She stood, her legs shaking, wondering if she could walk, and began to hurry over to the witness stand. She took the oath, and she was questioned about the murder by both the defense and the prosecution. After they were both finished, she was allowed to take her seat once again by Seth.

She wished that Sandy was there to be her attorney, but he was dead. And because he was dead, all of these acts had come into play in the first place.

She looked over at Seth and forced a smile on her face, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest, letting her rest her head there until the first day of the trial was through.

Tomorrow they would announce the verdict, and she could only hope for the best.


	21. The Verdict for All

Chapter Twenty-One

Some mistakes are forgivable, some accidental, some never forgiven. These mistakes take tolls on the lives of those who created them, and are there forever, in the back of their minds, just waiting to be remembered, to come back out, to torture those who made the mistakes. Some people are able to move on. They do not forget, but live with the bad or wrong things they have done in their lives. Others do not, and are tortured day after day after day for choosing the decisions they did. They can never forgive themselves, never come to terms with their mistakes. And for that they live a life of torturous hell.

**New York City, New York**

The jury began to take their seats when Summer looked over and saw Candy in her orange uniform, having been taken into custody by the police for conspiracy to kill but still being allowed to attend the trial and testify.

Summer looked back up as the judge asked the head juror to stand. She sighed, tears whelming in her eyes. Please…please…

She saw the head juror's lips begin to move and she knew what the verdict would be, she just knew.

**Newport, California**

**Harbor School**

Kaitlyn sat at the table, poking the mashed potatoes with her fork when that boy, Reichen, slid into the seat beside her. "What the hell?" she said under her breath, looking up and seeing his pale blue eyes shimmering down at her.

"Hey," he said, beginning to prepare his burger to his liking.

"You eat meat?" she said, disgusted.

"You don't?"

"No," she sneered. "How can you kill a poor defenseless animal for your own pleasure?"

"'Cuz I can."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "Is this your way of charming a girl?"

Reichen laughed. "Sure, why not?"

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. She grabbed her book sack, ready to leave, but then he stopped Kaitlyn, pulling something out of his own book bag. "What is that?" asked Kaitlyn, looking down at the box he had in his hand.

"I got you something from the bakery down the street during my break," said Reichen, stuffing a pile of French fries into his mouth.

Kaitlyn blushed. "Thank you but…what is it?"

"Chocolate cake," smiled Reichen.

Kaitlyn took her napkin and dabbed a bit of ketchup from his cheek. "You're a pig," she said, playfully.

"So you won't eat me?"

Kaitlyn's eyes narrowed to slits and said very sarcastically, "No, I will not. And how funny of you."

"Just trying to lighten the mood--"

"The mood had been lightened before you made with the corny jokes."

"But corny jokes are my way, my friend," he said, stuffing another French fry into his mouth.

"No thank you," she said, looking down at the ketchup covered fries on his plate. "But thanks anyways…."

**Newport, California**

**The Hospital**

Marissa lay in the hospital bed, watching the television with her eyes barely open. She smiled when she saw Ryan enter with his hands filled with bags of chips, sandwiches and drinks. She grinned when he gave her a cheese sandwich. "Thanks," she said. "The hospital food is so nasty."

Ryan nodded, stuffing a pile of sour cream and onion dipped chips into his mouth. She grinned, watching him chew the food as if it were his last meal. They spent the rest of the night sitting there together watching a _Laguna Beach _marathon, which Ryan objected highly to, considering it a "Chick. Flick".

He leaned over and kissed her often, and held her hand every time that the doctors came into the room to stick another I.V. into her arm, he would squeeze her hand tightly. He would dab her head with the wet wash clothe when she sweat. He would kiss her hand comfortingly. He would smile at her, trying to encourage her, make her feel better.

The night passed by slowly--the constant doctor visits, the nurses checking her, monitoring her every few minutes woke them constantly or disturbed whatever they were doing. Ryan just hoped that they could soon get out of the hospital, that they would release Marissa soon.

They said she had broken a leg, both of her arms, and a few of her ribs, but other than that she would be okay. After several days, they would release her. Ryan couldn't wait, he wanted so badly to love Marissa once again as they had done just a few weeks before.

**Cooper House**

Kaitlyn was sitting on her bed, trying to concentrate on her homework when the phone rang. "Hello?" she said, answering the phone.

"Hi, is this the Cooper residence?" asked a voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah," said Kaitlyn, writing out problem number twenty on a sheet of notebook paper. "Who's this?"

"I'm Reichen--calling for Kaitlyn…is she there?"

Kaitlyn smiled. "Yeah, this is she."

"Hey, Kaitlyn…I was calling to say…I want to go see that new horror movie coming out. Do you want to come?"

Kaitlyn was shocked. Was he asking her out on a date? But she had just broken up with Zach…this was too soon.

"Kaitlyn, are you there?"

What should she say? Should she go to the movie? She liked him but…

"Kaitlyn?"

Finally, she made her choice. Her emotions were whelming up in her stomach, she felt like puking everywhere, but she knew that she had to say something before Reichen hung up the phone because he thought that she had either hung up or went away. She took a deep breath, ready to pass out, sweat beads rolling down her forehead. She then noticed that she had dropped her pencil and paper, and the pencil had rolled off of the bed and fell to the floor.

"Yes," she said finally. "Yes, I'll go out with you." A wave of relief swept over her body at these words. See, that wasn't so bad, was it? She sighed, waiting for his answer.

"Great," he said. "I'll pick you up tomorrow night at around ten?"

"You want to go to the ten o'clock movie?"

"We can go to the nine."

"That would be better."

He laughed. "Okay, see you then."

**New York City, New York**

Summer watched as the head juror began to speak. Everything in the world began to slow down, her words seemingly slurred and stretched out.

"We find the defendant, Summer Roberts…."

Summer's heart swelled. What would happen? Please dear God, please!

"…not guilty on the account of second degree murder…"

Summer smiled as Seth wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Thank God," he said.

That was when Candy, shocked, grabbed the nearest officer's gun. She shot the officer and began to leap over the seats towards the exit, shooting anyone in her way. "I'll get you, Summer Roberts!" she screamed. "I'll get your skank ass!"

Summer watched, mouth parted, amazed. She was escaping. "Someone stop her!" screamed Summer.

But she was already out of the courtroom and making her way down the hall. Summer looked around the room, amazed at all of the chaos Candy had caused. She lay her head on Seth's shoulder and began to cry.


	22. First Kiss

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kaitlyn was straitening her hair when the horn was sounded outside. Damn, Reichen was here already! She grabbed her purse and, pausing before the mirror to check and make sure everything looked okay, she straightened her jacket and ran her hands along her jean pants to make sure that there was no flint there. After concluding that everything was okay, she began to hurry down the spiral staircase, which curved to the left, away from the door. By the time she reached the door, and, twisting the doorknob, opened it, Reichen was standing there holding a bouquet of flowers, most of which were red, pink, and yellow roses. Kaitlyn grinned appreciatively and said to him, "Thanks, Reichen. They're beautiful." She took them in her arms and walked to the kitchen, unaware that he was following her. She found a vase under the kitchen sink and filled it halfway up with water, then undressed the flowers, which were decorated with different types of paper and ribbons, and sat them in the vase. She set the vase on the dining room table to be displayed to all of the visitors, and then told Reichen that she was ready to go. He escorted her to his car, opening the passenger side door for her, and watched as she slid into the seat. "Thanks, Reichen." He was such a gentlemen--how could she have even second guessed going out on this date with him. How could she not accept his invitation for dinner and a movie. And she knew that it would be a scary movie and so even if she wasn't scared (which she probably wouldn't be, because she didn't take horror movies that seriously) she could cling to him in "fear."

Kaitlyn watched as he climbed into the car himself and revved the engine. Pulling out of her driveway, Reichen reversed onto the road and began to pull forward. They were soon flying down the road towards the movie theatre. Kaitlyn rolled down her window, letting the wind blow against her face. How could she not absolutely, completely, totally, not love this?

Then she remembered why. Why she had cried for the past few weeks. Why she had sobbed painfully, remembering him leaving her, without a final goodbye, just a note and a promise to return. But he hadn't, and so Kaitlyn had to move on. She had to move on from Zach. Zach was why she had been in so much pain for the past few weeks, why she had been afraid to be near another boy. But now she was over him, or so she thought.

**Meanwhile**

Anna kissed Luke softly. "The dinner was wonderful."

"Being with you is wonderful." He touched her hand softly. "I love you so much." And indeed he did. He hadn't been to Portland ever since the funeral, hadn't even heard from Molly lately. But maybe that was because the last time he talked to her he had told her he didn't want to be married with her, at least not anytime soon. She probably took it the worst way possible, and would never speak to him again. But that was okay, because Luke was now in love with Anna Stern, the girl from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He had met her parents, who liked him and accepted him as a good match for their beautiful daughter. Yes, Anna was beautiful, so damn beautiful, and Luke loved her so much. He leaned across the table to kiss her again. He wrapped his arms around her, the kiss becoming more and more passionate. "Should we go now?" he asked seductively.

Anna grinned. "We should."

**Later**

Kaitlyn screamed when she saw the killer stabbing the woman tens of times. The blood went everywhere. She wrapped her arms around Reichen's arm and held on tightly, pretending (or was she?) to be frightened of the horror movie. She looked up at him and saw a broad grin on his face. He liked this. She sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder as if fearful that the killer was going to get the little girl--she knew that he wouldn't, because there were few if any times that killers got little children because that was just something that you didn't do in movies, even though they did in life. Kaitlyn watched as he went to grab the girl but she screamed and ran, and the chandelier dropped from the ceiling. It smashed against the killer, driving him (or her) into the ground. You thought it was over, Kaitlyn knows she did. That was when the killer stood, grabbing the chandelier and throwing it, the chandelier hitting the little girl and pinning her under it's weight. She screamed as she desperately tried to get away, but the killer was approaching quick and fast. Okay, now this was some scary shit. Kaitlyn pulled one hand up to her face, covering her eyes. "Don't get the little girl!" she screamed. "Don't get her! Run, girl! Run!"

That was when the hero of the movie, the girl's older brother, began to chop the killer up with an axe. Okay, that was better. Much better. Reichen wrapped his arm around Kaitlyn and brought her head into his chest comfortingly.

**Meanwhile**

Anna moaned with pleasure as Luke moved above her. "Luke…Luke…yes! Yes!" Her hands clung to the bedpost, her knuckles white. She screamed in ecstasy as he entered her hard with quick thrusts.

"Anna," he moaned.

"Luke…"

She kissed his lips passionately, running her hands through his long blonde hair. She kissed his chest, the soft hairs trailing down to his belly, and then his manhood. That was when she lifted the blanket, grinning slyly, and pulled the cover up over her head.

**Later**

Kaitlyn was walked to the front door by Reichen. Such a gentleman. They stood there in silence for a moment, but then Reichen leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips. "I like you, Kaitlyn." He wrapped a hand around her neck, pulling her back in.

"I like you too," she said, kissing him back. They stood there, kissing passionately for a few moments. That was when Kaitlyn pulled away. "I've got to go," she said dreamily.

"See you on school Monday?"

"Actually…" Kaitlyn kissed him again. "There's a party tomorrow night…why don't you pick me up at nine?"

Reichen grinned and kissed her. "Okay. See you then." He turned and hurried back to his car, while Kaitlyn slipped her key into the lock, turning it, and walked inside.

That was when her mother ran up to her. "Hey, Kaitlyn."

"Hey mom," said Kaitlyn, confused why her mom would be so eager to greet her.

"There's someone here that wants to visit you. Says his name is…"

That was when Zach walked down the hall towards her. "Hey," he said.

"Oh my God…Zach…" Kaitlyn backed against the door. "You're back?"

"Your dad is over at the restaurant--"

They had just recently reopened the Lighthouse a few weeks before and her dad had been spending a lot of time there. Kaitlyn was glad he wasn't there then, because he would have beat the living hell out of Zach for even thinking of coming back.

"Zach, what are you doing here?"

Zach didn't speak. He just walked up to Kaitlyn and began to kiss her passionately.


	23. The Unexpected

Chapter Twenty Three

"What are you doing back?" asked Kaitlyn, hands on her hips, looking at him, her eyes cut to slits. "I thought that you were gone for good."

"Gone for good?" Zach uttered a laugh. "What do you mean, 'Gone for good?' I never said that I wasn't coming back."

"You left, Zach. You left me here in Newport--"

"I had things to think about--"

"Think about what, Zach? What did you have to _think _about that was so _damn _important you had to **_leave_**?"

"Listen to me, Kaiti--"

"Don't you **dare **call me that. Don't you **dare**."

"Kaitlyn, I am so sorry--" He tried to speak to her as she began to rampage up the stairs. "Kaitlyn, wait!"

She quickly spun around, halfway up to the third floor. "What the _fuck _do you want _now_?"

"I love you, Kaitlyn." There was a long silence after he said these words.

Finally, Kaitlyn spoke, but it wasn't something Zach had been wanting to hear. "Well guess what, _Zach_. I love someone now, but it sure as hell isn't you!" And she stormed up the staircase, disappearing at the top as she turned to corner to make her way up to the third floor. Zach watched, stunned.

"What?" he said in awe. "You're in love with someone else?"

Julie approached him, trying to provide some comfort, but he jerked away. "I've…I've gotta' go." He hurried out the house towards his car, tears streaming down his cheeks. That was when his cellular phone rang.

**Meanwhile**

Anna kissed Luke softly on the lips as he climbed out of bed. "Are you going now?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, pulling on his boxer briefs.

"Oh," she said, watching her hands which she was wringing in her lap. "You don't want to stay?" She smiled up at him seductively.

"I've got to take my brother to baseball in the morning--"

"I can go with you…" She crawled towards him, reaching the edge of the bed and leaning in towards him. She kissed his lips, then bit his lower lip as she began to kiss his chin, his neck, his shoulders, his arms, his chest. She ran her hands up and down his back, her fingernails leaving light claw marks on his skin. She began to pull down his boxers seductively. She could see that he was hard. "You still don't want to stay?" she asked.

"Don't do this to me," he groaned. "Please…"

Anna smiled. "Do what?"

He groaned and pushed her back onto the bed, climbing atop her. "What I'm about to do to you." He pulled the cover up over the head, turning off the lamp beside the bed.

**The Hospital**

**Newport, California**

"You're free to go," said the nurse, rolling Marissa out onto the sidewalk and waiting as Ryan drove the car up and, climbing out of the driver's side of the car, hurried around to open the passenger's side door. He next lifted Marissa up into his arms, being as gentle as possible, for she was still very week although she had had weeks of rest, and sat her down in the seat. He thanked the nurse for waiting with Marissa while he got the car, climbed back into the vehicle, and began to drive down the road. He turned to Marissa, smiling.

"I'm so glad to have you back, Marissa."

Marissa looked up at him, confused. "But you've had me all along, Ryan."

**New York City, New York**

Summer smiled at Seth and kissed him passionately on the lips. "I'm so happy…I'm free and not going to jail!" She hugged him tighter. "I love you so much…Thank you for being there for me, even through times like these."

"That's what boyfriends are for," said Seth, kissing her back, grabbing her ass and boosting her up into the air where she could wrap her legs around his waist. "I love you too, Summer."

"Should we celebrate?"

Seth smiled. "Yeah." He handed her the room key.

"What's this for?"

"Go to our room," he said, fishing the car keys out of his pocket. "I'm going to the store across the street, and to get us some dinner. You can freshen up or whatever."

"Okay," said Summer. "I'm dying to take a bath."

Seth nodded. "I'll be just a few minutes." He walked her to the door and watched as she entered the room. After he made sure that she was safe there, he pulled the door closed behind him and ran down the hallway, wanting to be quick. He couldn't want to get back to Summer and hold her in his arms once again.

**Newport, California**

They had their first date that night. It had been wonderful. They had gone to a very nice French restaurant, where they had dined over a bottle of red wine. After finishing dinner, which had been very delicious, he had taken her out on a stroll on the beach, where they had their first kiss--well, not their first, but their first as a couple that was. Kirstin now stood against the large front door of her home, sighing deeply. It had been wonderful, absolutely wonderful. That was when, walking towards a mirror which stood in the hallway, she saw that she still had his coat on. Filling inside the pockets to see what it had inside, she found his car keys. Crap, he had forgotten them---that was when the doorbell rang. Yep, it was Carter, coming back for his car keys. She smiled, walking towards the door, and pulled it open. There he was, as handsome as before. Five o'clock shadow curving along the bottom of his face, hair that was so wild he couldn't take care of it, deep blue eyes like---then she remembered. His eyes were like Sandy's.

She smiled at him. "You forgot your keys."

"That wasn't all I forgot." He kissed her passionately on the lips, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her up to him. Their bodies were rubbing up against each other as he kissed her forcefully. Not that she didn't like it, he was so wonderful. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him harder, and then pulled herself upwards so that she could lace her legs around his waist. He kicked the door shut behind himself, shoving her against the wall as he desperately tried to unzip her dress. She moaned as he kissed her neck, slowly moving downwards towards her breasts. After completely shedding the dress from her body, which took little effort, considering how willing Kirstin was, he began to undo her bra. He kissed her breasts, suckled them gently, causing her to moan in pain and pleasure and ecstasy.

"God, Carter," she moaned as she tried desperately to unbutton his shirt. It was well toned for a man of his age, the hairs rippling down his chest in soft waves. She kissed them softly, moving her way down past his lightly colored nipples, pressing her lips towards his stomach, his belly button. She licked there soothingly, making him moan.

"Keep going, Kirstin," he managed to gasp as she fell to her knees, unzipping his pants. That was when she stood.

"Come on," she said, leading him up the stairs, kissing him the whole way. She desperately tried to shed him of his boxers, but to no success. Finally, he did it for her. He opened the bedroom door and watched as he hurried in, then he made his way inside after her. Moaning as she kissed him passionately, he slammed the door behind himself.

**New York City, New York**

Summer stood, staring at herself in the mirror. She ran a hand through her hair, pulling a loose strand back behind her ear and sighing softly. She turned and opened the bathroom door, walking out into the dark room. Making her way slowly over to the large window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, which was larger than she was, she saw the millions of tiny lighted specks around her. New York City was so beautiful. That was when she heard something behind her. Turning around, she was shocked at what she saw.

"Well, well, well," smiled Candy. "I see you thought you were going to get away."

Summer stood there, shocked. "What?"

Candy began to approach her, and Summer saw what she had in her hand, gleaming by the light of the city. Candy held a knife in her hand.

"No," screamed Summer, backing up against the large window. "Please, Candy--"

"Did you let Yugi live--"

"I didn't mean to--"

Candy raised her arm into the air, ready to bring the knife down on Summer. "Final words, Summer?"

Summer swallowed hard. "Please…"

"I'll take that answer," smiled Candy, bringing the knife down fast.

"Stop!" screamed Summer.

But she didn't.

**Meanwhile**

Luke's cellular phone was ringing. He bent over Anna to answer it, holding it up to his ear. "Y'ello?" he said sleepily.

"Hi, is this Luke?"

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"Hey, Luke--I've missed you, baby!"

"Molly?" said Luke, shocked.

"Yes, it's me, baby! Where are you at?"

"My hotel in Newport."

"What hotel?"

"The Mermaid Inn--why?"

Luke could tell she was smiling on the other end. "Because I'm on my way there now."

**Meanwhile**

"What are you talking about?" asked Zach on one end of the line. The police operator was on the other end.

"Mrs. Sanchez died two days ago. Around the time you left. She was found hanging in her penthouse--"

"That's terrible," said Zach, running a hand through his hair.

"The thing is, Zachary," said Officer Hart, "she was hanging from a tie?"

"What? They think her husband did it?" Zach was confused.

"Actually, Zach…It was your tie. They think you did it. They think that you killed Gabrielle Sanchez."

Zach dropped the phone to the ground, nearly vomiting everywhere.

He was a suspect of the murder of his former lover?

Everything was falling apart--everything.

**The next chapter of the story will be its last. Prepare for a dramatic climax, featuring death, accusations, catfights, lost loves and those who are new, and an explosive conclusion--(or possibly a cliffy)--to OF DAYS PAST BY (SEASON 7 OF _THE O.C.) Plus possible sequel in the making (which would be season 8._**

_**Disclaimer-I do not own the O.C.**_

_**No matter how much I may wish to own the O.C.**_


	24. The Finale

Chapter Twenty Four

**The Season Finale**

Marissa watched as Ryan began to pull the car up into the carport. She smiled, watching him hurry out the car and running around the door in order to open the door for her. "Hey," he said, grabbing her legs and the upper section of her back, so that he cradled her in his arms.

"I can walk by myself," she laughed.

"I want to carry you," he said, not funny-like, or trying to break a smile, but as serious as humanly possible. She stared into his deep blue eyes, thinking, "God, I love this man." And she quickly kissed him on the lips, just a quick peck, and then watched as he smiled down at her.

"I love you," she said in a hushed whisper, although there was no one around.

"Hey guys!" came a familiar voice from behind them.

"Who's there?" asked Marissa.

Ryan quickly turned them both around. After doing so, he spotted the figure under a nearby streetlamp. He squinted his eyes in order to focus on the distant figure. "Who's there?" he asked.

The figure began to approach them, walking closer, a mere silhouette in the darkness. That was when Ryan realized who the person was, someone he was sure that he would never see again. Marissa gasped, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth.

The last time they had seen him was before the trial of Marissa Cooper, over five years ago.

**Meanwhile at the Mermaid Inn**

Luke hurried down the steps towards the car, which had just drove into the motel parking lot. Anna was still asleep upstairs, and he didn't want to wake her just for this. He saw Molly, her long curly blonde hair dangling from her shoulders, her thin lanky arms, her long slender legs, her feet in bright red high-heels (which, in truth, made her look like a sluttish ho). He feigned a smile, then hugged her briefly. "What are you doing here?" he asked, unsure why she was in Newport.

"Why do you think, silly?" she kissed him softly on the lips. "I've missed you."

"Molly, listen--since I've left--"

"I am willing to forgive," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, "anything that you have done…"

"Molly--"

She kissed him again, except harder this time. Then she said, seductively, "So…where are you staying?"

"Listen to me, Molly--" Luke tried to push her away, but she kissed him again.

"I love you."

That was when Luke heard a gasp from behind him. He quickly spun around and saw Anna standing up on the second story landing, staring down at the scene which included Molly with her arms around Luke's shoulders, desperately trying to make out with him, trying to seduce him.

"Anna!" he called, pushing Molly away.

But Anna had begun to run, she wearing nothing but a nightgown, down the spiral staircase towards her car. Luke ran after her, leaving Molly standing there in the middle of the parking lot, looking confused and disoriented. "What the fuck?" she said.

She turned and ran after Luke, who she saw was approaching a girl who was climbing into a red Scion. She screamed his name: "Luke! Baby, come back!"

Luke turned and looked at her, and his gaze burned deep into her eye sockets. "What?" she said. "What did I do? I thought…" She looked up at the hotel room, where the door stood ajar. "I thought we were…he must have…" Molly stood there, shocked for a few moments. Then she began to cry.

**New York City, New York**

"No!" screamed Summer, grabbing Candy's hands which were fixed around the knife, trying to plunge it into Summer's head. Summer through her against the large table, knocking the lamp and vase of roses to the floor. "Don't!" she screamed, running towards the bed, leaping atop it, and climbing over the side. She ran for the door, but Summer immediately felt the hand of Candy gripping her shoulder. "Stop it!" she screamed, turning around and grabbing Candy's head, slamming it into the wall. Summer turned and ran for the door, managing to turn the lock, and began to undo the chain lock. That was when Candy stabbed the knife into the wall beside Summer, barely missing her fingers. Summer screamed and tried to pull open the door, forgetting that she hadn't undone the chain lock. That was when she realized her mistake, waking from her nightmarish reverie, and turned, running towards the bed. Candy had left the knife half dug into the wall, and turned, a evil grin on her lips.

"You stupid bitch…" She pulled a gun from her coat and aimed it at Summer. "You think that you can just do this? Ruin my life and get away with it?" She fired the gun, piercing Summer in her right shoulder. Summer screamed, falling to the floor, moaning in pain.

"Please, dear God, no…"

Candy grinned, ready to fire once more, ready to end the life of the girl who had in so many ways ended her own. She pulled the trigger, but heard a soft _click_. Damn, the stupid gun was jammed. That was okay, though. She simply turned to the wall and began to pry the knife loose.

**Newport, California**

Kaitlyn lay in her bed, sobbing hard, as Ryan met the eyes of the man who had killed his mother. He sat Marissa down in the car seat, reaching for the glove compartment. "Don't think you're getting away with this, you son of a bitch," growled Ryan, reaching for the gun. He looked up and saw that the man was gone. Ryan glanced around, left and right, and saw that he was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you, you stupid mother-fucker!"

Five years before, the man had murdered his mother in a rage.

"I know I fucked your mother!" cried the man from behind Ryan.

It was time for payback or--

Ryan spun around, but it was too late. The man swung a large, blunt object (which turned out to be a baseball bat), slamming it into Ryan's head. Ryan immediately fell to the ground beside the car, laying there for a while, unconscious. The man stared down at him, and then spit onto his body. "You are getting what you deserved."

The man had run away several years before, after he was discovered for the murder of Ryan's mother. He had escaped, never to be seen again.

"No!" screamed Marissa as the man climbed into the truck beside her. "No, Oliver, please!" She weakly began to climb out of the car, but Oliver was quicker. He ran around the side, grabbing her waist, and shoving her into the car. "No!" Marissa cried again as Oliver began to pull the car out of the driving way. "Stop the car! Stop the mother fucking car!" she screamed as she beat against the side of the car, slamming her fists against the windshield. "Stop the car!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched the Cohen house disappear behind her. "No!"

"It will be okay," he assured her. "We belong together, Marissa. You're the only one who understands me, remember?"

The man who Kirstin had met at rehab, the man who had later escaped and caused so much heart, that could have even be the reason Ryan left in the first place, was carrying Marissa away.

**New York City, New York**

Summer cried out as Candy charged towards her, the knife raised into the air. "Please!" she begged, shielding her face with her arms. "Please!"

Seth, meanwhile, was walking down the hall, whistling happily, humming, happy, thinking that he and Summer would be making love within a few moments, enjoying dinner and champagne. Or, if she preferred, wine. Whatever she preferred, whatever she preferred.

"No!" screamed Summer as Seth began to fit the key in the lock. That was when she realized that, as she saw the doorknob began to turn, it must be him. "Seth!" she screamed, and he heard her call.

"Summer?" he cried. He burst into the room, running into the darkness. "Summer?" That was when he saw the figure huddled in the corner, and the person hovering over her. He cried out, dropping the food and champagne, and charging forward. "Get away from her, bitch!" He grabbed Candy around the waist, slamming her against the window. The window broke, smashing into hundreds of pieces, as Seth began to descend two stories, his arms wrapped around a screaming Candy. Everything seemed to slow down, the slow descending fall, the crashing into the ground that sounded like a billion bones crushing at once, the pool of blood beneath Seth as he struggled to try and roll onto his side. He stared up into the dark night sky, the millions of stars twinkling above his head, the crowd of people who had recently gathered around him. Everything seemed to be in slow motion.

Summer sat up in the second floor bedroom, one hand cupping the hole in her shoulder, trying to stop the blood that ran down her side and she glanced down at the street, at the people, at Seth who laid beside a crushed Candy.

And she too began to cry.

**If you want me to continue in part two of this story (which will be Season 8) please submit a review saying so. How did you like the climatic finale? Was it good? Bad? Tell the truth about how you feel about it? Was it up to your expectations? I need your criticism. **

**Thanks,**

**Tangence**

**P.S. Don't worry. If you do want me to continue, everything will be explained in the next story. Keep reading! **


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